The World Food Program (WF) says this year North Korea is one million metric tons short of the food it needs to feed its population.

Japan’s Kyodo News quoted WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran as telling reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday that between 35 and 50 percent of North Korean children are malnourished.

Sheeran, who is on a three-day visit to Japan, said her agency will provide food to some 600-thousand young children and pregnant women in the impoverished North.

She then called for increased financial aid for the WFP in North Korea, saying that support is urgently needed.

Sheeran said she plans to visit the North in the near future to inspect food programs there for children and pregnant women.