A North Korean military delegation visited Pakistan (a long time buyer of North Korean weapons and weapon's technology.) The official reason for the trip was to "explore possible future collaboration." Meanwhile, back in North Korea, there was 1.3 percent economic growth last year. This despite continued food problems. North Korea needs 6.13 million tons of grains a year (about 570 pounds per person), but last year only produced five million tons. The famine has been going on throughout the 1990s and has caused enormous hardship in the north. Some 300,000 North Koreans have escaped across the Yalu river to China, where a few manage to get to South Korea (some 161 did so the first four months of 2001.)