21.  Floods last summer devastated vast areas of farmland in the North, adding to a chronic food shortage.

22.  Floods the past two years have aggravated a chronic food shortage.

23.  He said North Korea will have to change to break out of diplomatic isolation and ease its chronic food shortage.

24.  In addition, a chronic food shortage in the reclusive Stalinist state has been aggravated by two years of flooding.

25.  In North Korea, which suffers from chronic food shortages, the government has not confirmed any cases.

26.  In the previous two years, floods aggravated the chronic food shortage in the isolated communist state.

27.  It asked for a lifting of restrictions on aid groups assisting North Korea through its chronic food shortages and economic hardships.

28.  Its chronic food shortages have been aggravated by bad weather in recent years.

29.  Its chronic food shortage was aggravated by two years of flooding.

30.  Its centrally planned economy has all but collapsed amid chronic food shortages, now in their fifth year.