The head of the United Nations (news - web sites) food agency on Thursday asked South Korea (news - web sites) to donate more food to ease shorages in its impoverished northern neighbor.


James Morris, chief of the World Food Program, also sought donations for Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Iran when he met with Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, said Gerald Bourke, a WFP spokesman.


The WFP, the world"s largest humanitarian agency, relies on donor contributions to help alleviate the plight of more than 800 million hungry people around the world.


In 2003, the Rome-based agency raised $2.6 billion. South Korea donated $70 million and was Asia"s second-biggest donor after Japan, which provided $129 million.


Morris was scheduled to hold a news conference on Friday to offer the WFP"s latest assessment of the situation in North Korea (news - web sites) and Sudan"s Darfur region.


Since the mid-1990s, North Korea has depended on foreign aid ?mainly from the United States, Japan and South Korea ?to feed its 22 million people.


The WFP"s relief work in the North requires 40,000 tons of food a month, costing more than $14 million, the agency said.


In August, the agency said that while it now has enough food for its distribution projects, many North Koreans are still hungry.


The collapse of North Korea"s economy caused food prices to skyrocket and forced many more into poverty, it said.