North Korea has not yet resumed reliable self-sufficiency in food production and periodically it relies on external food aid from South Korea, China, the United States, Japan, the European Union and others.[66] In 2002, North Korea requested that food supplies no longer be delivered.[67] North Korea has made progress in improving food security since the 1990s, and now has in most years lower malnutrition levels than in some richer Asian countries.[66]