11.   Countries like Ethiopia, even in the best of times, are on the verge of a food crisis.

12.   For Japan, the renewed food crisis offers a chance to resolve a series of major irritants with Pyongyang that have often become political embarrassments here.

13.   Most experts look no further than Kim when they try to predict how Pyongyang will react when the food crisis deepens.

14.   Nevertheless, many who attended a recent food summit in Rome expressed fears that a food crisis is looming.

15.   The floods of last summer sharpened the food crisis, but did not provoke it.

16.   The food crisis could leave millions starved, and the recent deaths of replacement of top officials have thrust Pyongyang into a leadership reshuffle at a difficult time.

17.   The incident comes at a critical time for North Korea, which is struggling with a food crisis.

18.   The move added to an impending food crisis, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

19.   The North Korean food crisis is also different in other ways, experts said.

20.   A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the province could face a food crisis unless refugees can return home and harvest crops.