A New York-based human rights group has warned that North Korea could face another food crisis unless it changes its "regressive" policies.

Human Rights Watch said in a report Thursday that the North has stopped the activities of the World Food Program, restored state control over food rationing and banned the private sale of food.

The report said that only a decade ago, similar policies led to the famine that killed between 580,000 and three million people, warning of a possible repeat of the food crisis in the 1990s.

The group said the North harvested 4.5 million tons of grain last year and has just 3.82 million remaining, far short of the six million tons Pyongyang needs a year.

Human Right Watch also urged the North to again accept international aid agencies, allow the private sale of food and ensure food distribution is not based on loyalty to the regime.