Two young North Koreans were recently arrested after trying to defect over the Chinese-North Korean border near Hoeryeong, North Hamgyong Province. The two are currently being investigated by the authorities.

A source in the province told Daily NK on Friday that the two young people are lovers. The man, surnamed Chae, is in his late 20s and originally from Hamhung. The woman, surnamed Kim and a fourth-year student at Hamhung Pharmaceutical College, is in her early 20s and originally from Hoeryong. After first being interrogated by the border patrol, they were sent to the Ministry of State Security office in Hoeryong.

The two began a relationship one year ago and reportedly enjoyed watching South Korean movies and dramas together. Chae, who had encouraged his girlfriend to watch South Korean shows, later told her “how great” it would be to go live in South Korea together, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Then, at around 1 AM on June 2, the couple attempted to cross the Tumen River. Upon being discovered by a contingent of border guards hidden near the river, however, the two were arrested.

After being severely beaten by the border guards, the two confessed to “attempting to defect,” and were ultimately sent to the Ministry of State Security office in Hoeryong.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Four in ten North Koreans are chronically short of food and further cuts to already minimal rations are expected after the worst harvest in a decade, the United Nations said on Friday.

Official rations are down to 300 grammes - under 11 ounces - per person per day, the lowest ever for this time of year, the U.N. said following a food security assessment it carried out at Pyongyang’s request from March 29 to April 12.

It found that 10.1 million people were suffering from severe food insecurity, “meaning they do not have enough food till the next harvest,” U.N. World Food Program spokesman Herve Verhoosel said.

North Korea’s population is around 25.2 million, according to its Central Bureau of Statistics, the report said.

Verhoosel said the word “famine” was not being used in the current crisis, but it might come to that in a few months or years. “The situation is very serious today - that’s a fact.”

The country suffered a famine in the mid-1990s believed to have killed as many as 3 million people.