The U.S. says that although it considers the food shortage in North Korea to be very serious, Washington is of the stance that allegations of the North appropriating food aid for the military must be resolved first.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement that the United States remains deeply concerned about the well-being of the North Korean people, and that it takes the issue very seriously.

However, she said that North Korea still had to address U.S. concerns over the monitoring of aid shipments in order for the U.S. to decide whether to resume providing food support.

The last U.S. food aid program for 2008-2009 was suspended amid a dispute over monitoring and suspicions that North Korean authorities had diverted food for their own use.

However, the U.S. is reviewing the resumption of the food aid. Washington dispatched a group of inspectors in May following a U.N. report that said North Korea’s food shortage had exacerbated this year.