The North, suffering under dictator Kim Jong-un's cruel regime, cited a "severe" shortage of food and requested aid during a recent meeting with Mongolia's President Ts. Elbegdorj.

"We ask Mongolia to seek possibilities of delivering food aid to North Korea," an article by InfoMongolia said.



Millions of people live near starvation at the secretive state, and children orphaned by misfortune or their parent's imprisonment, often die from malnutrition.



Chilling video footage recently documented a 10-year-old-boy starving to death on the streets of North Korea.



Survivors of the regime have revealed how food is often used as leverage to control starving people.



Malnutrition is so severe that the North Korean populace is even shrinking in height, experts say.



North Koreans used to be taller than their South Korean counterparts, but now, most men are lucky to exceed 150cm in height, according to analysis.



The shrinking is related to nutrition, and first became widespread in the mid 90s when North Korea experienced a famine so severe people were reduced to eating weeds and grass.



Today, according to the World Food Programme, "one in every three children remains chronically malnourished or 'stunted', meaning they are too short for their age".



Desperate people have even resorted to cannibalism, according to multiple reports.