Malnourishment is still widespread in North Korea, even though the population of the Communist country is embracing symbols of modernisation and wealth, a UN report shows.
One in five North Korean children are smaller than average, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in the report released on Wednesday, pointing out that stunting is "an indication of chronic or recurrent malnutrition".
The rate of stunted children had dropped from 28 per cent in 2012 to 19 per cent last year, according to the research based on a North Korean government survey among 8500 households.
Every 10th child suffers from diarrhoea, an illness often caused by contaminated water and can contribute to malnutrition, according to the statistics.
The quality of the survey that was conducted in 2017 is far better than the previous one from 2009, UNICEF's Asia chief Karin Hulshof told a press conference in Geneva.
It also offers a glimpse into people's homes and lives in the secluded country.
More than 50 per cent of youths and adults own a mobile phone and more than 80 per cent have used one in recent months.
Nearly one in five households has a computer.
Citizens are not allowed to use the internet but there is a national intranet, which only 1.4 per cent of the population access from home.
While electric rice cookers can be found in more than 60 per cent of North Korean homes, only 30 per cent have refrigerators.
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