North Koreans were bracing for flooding Tuesday as torrential rain battered the communist country, according to state media.

The impoverished North, after decades of deforestation, is particularly vulnerable to flooding, which worsens chronic food shortages by washing away crops.

Radio Pyongyang, monitored by Seoul's Yonhap news agency, said railway and other transport workers in the southwestern city of Sariwon "are putting their energy into projects to prevent damage during the torrential rainy season."

Seoul's weather office was expecting North Korea to receive 60 to 150 millimetres (2.4-6 inches) of rain on Tuesday, compared with 50 to 100mm in the South, after the rainy season began on the peninsula in late June.

North Korea in 2007 reported at least 600 people dead or missing following devastating floods that caused huge damage to all sectors of the economy.

A Seoul government report said this month the North is expected to run short of up to 840,000 tons of food this year.