North Korean imports of Chinese grain up 5.9% last year

North Korea's imports of Chinese grain increased 5.9 percent in 2013 from a year earlier, a South Korean think tank said Monday. The Korea Rural Economic Institute said Pyongyang's imports of Chinese flour, rice, corn and other grain products reached 298,257 tons in 2013, compared with 281,633 tons a year earlier. North Korea's food production is estimated to have been at about 5.03 million metric tons in 2013, up 5 percent from the previous year, the U.N. World Food Program said in November. Still, the food security situation is still serious, with 84 percent of all households having borderline or poor food consumption, the U.N. food agency said in a report posted on its website.