The death toll after the flood disaster in North Korea has passed 170 according to official state media.

Listen: Thousands left homeless in North Korea flood disaster (Credit: ABC)

Another 400 people are unaccounted for and more than 200,000 are said to be homeless.

The floods were triggered by heavy rains towards the end of July and it's estimated that 600 square kilometres of farmland have been washed away.

For the aid agencies, the immediate problem is dealing with a shortage of food and clean water.

Presenter: Richard Ewart

Speaker: Jerome Sauvage, the UN's resident coordinator in North Korea