UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- A donors' meeting on assistance to the flood-stricken people in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will be convened Friday in New York, a UN humanitarian official said Thursday.

    The UN agencies on the ground, including the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN World Food Program (WFP), the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Resident Coordinator, are continuing their efforts to assess the damage caused by devastating floods in the DPRK, UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Margareta Wahlstrom told reporters at the UN Headquarters.

    She said that donors will meet Friday to discuss how to mobilize resources to bring relief to hundreds of thousands of flood-stricken people.

    "The government of DPRK has, as you know, welcomed assistance, and we are now together with them defining what the needs will be," Wahlstrom said, adding that the most pressing needs will be food, medical support and shelter.

    Since Aug. 4, floods caused by heavy rains have claimed 14 lives and damaged at least 2,800 civilian buildings in the county.