North Korea's food distribution to ordinary citizens tumbled to a three-year low in August, hit by a drought in the spring, a U.S. report said Wednesday.



The North's daily food ration per capita reached 250 grams last month, far lower than a target of 573g, the Washington-based Voice of America (VOA) said, citing a report from the World Food Programme.



The daily amount marks the smallest food provision since those posted in 2011, the report said, adding that the July figure was about the same size.



The July and August portions mark a sharp cut from what were distributed last year or earlier this year.



During the first five months of 2013, around 400g of food were given out to one person every day and the daily figure did not go under 301 g for the rest of the year.



For the first half of 2014, 400g or more had been provided per person for daily consumption, according to the report.



The United Nations' food aid organization concluded after their interviews with some North Korean families that most ordinary North Korean people are not properly fed and thus are in danger of acute malnutrition, according to VOA.



The spring drought hit its agricultural output hard, with the country's wheat production dwindling 57 percent this year from a year earlier, it added. (Yonhap)