Earlier this month, the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released its annual Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) for 2020.

OCHA describes the GHO as “the most comprehensive, authoritative and evidence-based assessment of world humanitarian needs.” The 2020 edition includes results from thirty-five appeals in 2019 and thirty-one appeals for 2020, with North Korea included in both years. 

FUNDING — SMALL ASKS, BIG GOALS

The DPRK’s Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), comprising UN agencies and resident non-governmental organisations (NGOs), requested $120.3 million in 2019.

According to the GHO, as of November 2019, the DPRK’s appeal was the