Pyongyang. North Korea has intensified rice cultivation in dry fields as an alternative to traditional water-submerged paddy farming. While state media presents this as an effort to increase agricultural production, experts interpret it as a serious indication of the country's growing drought and food insecurity.North Korea, a nuclear-armed nation, has long grappled with international sanctions, a state-controlled economy, and persistent food shortages. In previous years, natural disasters and a weak agricultural infrastructure have also impacted food production.Elizabeth Salmon, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, stated in February that food shortages were a major humanitarian challenge in...