The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that North Korea could face an even more serious food shortage due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In its revised report on the humanitarian response to COVID-19 released Thursday, the agency said over ten million North Koreans, some 40 percent of the population, are short of food.

It forecast that from November last year to October this year, 374-thousand tons of polished grain will be in short supply in North Korea due to insufficient agricultural production and recurrent natural disasters including droughts and floods. 

The report said that following the outbreak of COVID-19 in China last December, North Korea took early measures in January including restrictions on the movement of people, goods and supplies across the country. 

The report said that in early April, the North Korean government started a phased relaxation of restrictions and cautiously reopened limited cross-border trade with China along the Dandong-Shinju border, but some containment measures remain in place.

China is North Korea's number one trade partner and restrictions on trade also affect the regime's food supply.

The FAO stressed the need for humanitarian aid, adding its goal this year is to support 676-thousand North Korean people, costing 13 million dollars.