The secretive state determines what food rations its citizens will receive.
A source wishing to remain anonymous told Christian charity Open Doors: "Not too long ago I met a North Korean refugee family in China.
"Their children were the ages of my children at the time - nine and six - or so it seemed. I couldn't have been more wrong.
"They were 14 and nine. But their growth was stunted because they had been malnourished their entire lives."
Another source inside North Korea told the charity: "Recently, North Korean citizens were asked to donate money towards several construction projects.
"In the meantime, often we don't get any food rations, even though we're at the end of the winter, which always means that there are a lot of food shortages. The situation of the powerless North Korean citizens is getting worse."
Open Doors claim the harvest goes directly to the government and what remains is "too little for most people to survive".
The North Korean government recently announced that daily rations would have to be cut from 550g to 300g.
A kilo of rice costs more than twice the average monthly salary of a North Korean.
At a cost of £59 per family per month, Open Doors secret workers smuggle in enough food to keep 60,000 secret Christians alive in North Korea. They also smuggle in much-needed medicines, along with illegal Bibles and Christian literature.
The country has been number one every year on the Open Doors World Watch List, since 2002 for the country where Christians face the most persecution.
Christianity in the country is forbidden and is a political crime.
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