The World Food Program (WFP) says North Korean officials have acknowledged the gravity of their nation’s food shortage problem.

The Voice of America said Wednesday that the head of the North’s Agriculture Department met with WFP officials who were visiting the impoverished state last week and said the North is currently one million tons short of food supplies.

The spokesman for WFP’s office in Bangkok, Paul Risley, said the North is hoping to receive a significant amount of food aid from the WFP.

Such a turnaround in Pyongyang’s stance towards the organization’s assistance apparently suggests that the communist state’s food problem is far more serious than expected.

Last year, Pyongyang turned down short-term food aid from the agency.