'Too many soldiers to feed': North Koreans fear more sanctions as drought threatens famine

Plight of ordinary people being overlooked amid focus on missile launches and rising tensions between Pyongyang and Washington

Sanctions and the worst drought for almost two decades threaten to cause severe hardship for millions of people in North Korea, while the country's leadership continues to plough scarce resources into its missile and nuclear programmes, according to UN agencies and those with contacts in the impoverished nation.

A drought that ravaged crops earlier this summer will leave the North unable to properly feed many of its people, including soldiers in the country's million-strong army, the groups have warned.