Heavy rains and flooding damaged North Korea’s main food crops in late July, according to a new U.N. report, amid long-standing concerns about the country’s food security.

In the report published Monday, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that seasonal rains in the DPRK started on time in mid‑April, while above-average precipitation from April to June supported crop establishment and early development.

But “these generally conducive conditions were followed by torrential rains in July that caused waterlogging and triggered flooding, affecting standing crops,” the FAO found. 

Waterlogging occurs when too much water fills the soil, making it hard for