WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. government expressed worries Monday once again over North Koreans stricken with hunger, amid reports of no improvement in their life under new leadership.

Kim Jong-un, in his late 20s, took over power 10 months ago, raising some hopes of meaningful changes in the policy of the communist country, which has long placed a focus on beefing up its military arsenal.

But there is no sign that Pyongyang is averting its course, with many of its 24 million people starving and suffering oppression, according to information gained through various channels.

The U.S. State Department acknowledged a lack of hands-on information on the secretive nation.

“We don’t have our own embassy there. We don’t have our own personnel on the ground,” department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing.

She was asked what the U.S. assessment of the North is since the power transition last December. The sudden death of long-time ruler Kim Jong-il left Kim Jong-un, his third and youngest son, in charge.

Nuland would not share any intelligence the U.S. government has.

“But it is obviously of concern that people are coming out and saying that things are even harder and not getting better,” she added. “We have for many months now been calling on the new leader to make a better choice for his own people and to invest in their own future, including by working with us to meet their nuclear obligations.”

In a front-page article Monday, based on interviews with several North Koreans near the border with China, the New York Times reported they “have not felt any improvements in their lives” under the junior Kim’s rule.

While the lower classes suffer, newly built apartment blocks and a growing number of Mercedes-Benzes in Pyongyang are a story of a different world for the capital’s elite, the Times said, citing comments from a North Korean resident.