Pedestrians cross the road with parasols on Mirae Scientist St. in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Tuesday. AP-Yonhap

More than 40 percent of North Koreans are undernourished, a U.N. report showed Thursday amid concerns of food security in the impoverished country.

According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022 report co-published by U.N. agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the U.N. Children's Fund and the World Food Programme, the prevalence of undernourishment among North Korea's 25-million population reached 41.6 percent from 2019 to 2021, compared with 33.8 percent from 2004 to 2006.

Meanwhile, 33.9 percent of North Korean women aged 15 to 49 suffered from anemia in 2019, compared with 13.5 percent of South Korean women in the age group in the same period.

The prevalence of stunting in the North's children aged under 5 stood at 18.2 percent in 2020, compared with 2.2 percent in South Korea. (Yonhap)