Radio Free Asia says that 37 percent of North Koreans currently rely on sources outside their country for food.

The U.S. broadcaster cited data from the 2011 Humanitarian Action for Children Report released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Monday.

According to RFA, global food aid to North Korea has dwindled and a food shortage has worsened in the communist state.

It says that the number of North Koreans who have suffered through natural disasters and food shortages has hit record figures and that UNICEF's budget for North Korea projects this year has risen to 12 million dollars.

Citing the UNICEF report, RFA says that a growing number of North Korean women and children are starving to death.