According to rumors that Pyongyang’s food scarcity is getting worse, North Korea leader Kim Jong Un asked government authorities to ensure the country reaches its grain production goals “without fail,” according to state media on Thursday.
The isolated, nuclear-armed country has long struggled to feed itself and is subject to a number of sanctions because of its weapons activities.
In order to defend itself from the Covid-19 pandemic, North Korea has likewise been under a strict self-imposed coronavirus blockade since early 2020; only last year did it resume any trade with China.
On Wednesday, the final day of a significant gathering of the governing party, Kim “ardently advocated for attaining this year’s grain production goal without fail,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency of the nation.
“In order to raise the nationwide agricultural output, attention should be made to overcoming the lopsidedness in the guidance on farming … and it is vital to concentrate on boosting the per-hectare yield at all the farms,” the report concluded.
The most recent revelation comes after Kim demanded on Monday that the nation’s agricultural output undergo a “fundamental revolution,” and the South Korean unification ministry said last month that there had been reports of famine deaths in the North.
In February, ministry spokeswoman Koo Byoung-sam stated, “We estimate the food shortages there to be grave,” adding Pyongyang appeared to have asked the World Food Program for assistance.
North Korea’s Struggle with Food Crisis and its Impact on Citizens
The poor North has long faced criticism for failing to sufficiently care for its citizens in favour of funding its military and nuclear weapons development, which are now prohibited.
In 2021, Kim made rare comments to the suffering, saying the food situation in the North was getting “tight” and advising the people to prepare for the “worst-ever crisis”.
State-run KCTV in Pyongyang acknowledged a “food crisis” the nation was experiencing in that same year.
In his speech defining the agenda for 2022, Kim also spoke about food security and development.
The nation has had famines on occasion, including one in the 1990s that is estimated to have killed millions of people.
Due to a persistent lack of infrastructure, deforestation, and years of government mismanagement, it is extremely susceptible to natural calamities like as flood and drought.
