GENEVA (Yonhap) The World Food Program (WFP) said Feb. 12 that North Korea would likely suffer a significant break in the supply of food aid, particularly cereals, in April because donors shipment schedules are coming up on a slack period.

"Tight shipping schedules will lead to distribution reductions in the coming months based on donor call-forward orders, unless the shipments are accelerated," the U.N. food aid organization said in the No. 6 issue of its weekly Emergency Report.

It also warned that the North will face a break in the supply of beans and oil this month and next due to smaller-than-normal shipments, the report said.

"However, generous donations of 500,000 tons of rice from Japan, 100,000 tons of corn from South Korea and other shipments from the United States, Italy and the European Union have stabilized the cereal pipeline for 2001," the report said.

The report reminded agencies that the North suffered its coldest month since 1949 in January, with Changang Province and the North Korean capital of Pyongyang posting minus 37 and minus 27 degrees Celsius, respectively.