The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that it will need three times more funding for its programs targeting North Koreans in the first half of this year compared to last year, a sign that the U.N. organization is preparing in earnest for the possibility that the country reopens to foreign aid workers and international assistance. 

In its latest Global Operational Response Plan published Friday, the WFP projects funding needs of $42 million from Feb. to July 2023 — a threefold increase from the $14 million that the organization said that it needed for the same period last year.