The aftermath of the pandemic worries North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The food situation in the country is now described as strained.
The reason is twofold. Both the extreme weather that last year destroyed large parts of the crops in the country and closed borders to prevent corona infection has led to a challenging situation, writes Bloomberg.
In 2020, both the pandemic and a summer filled with storms and floods put pressure on the country’s economy.
Recently, Kim Jong-un stated that the agricultural sector is not able to produce enough grain to meet the need. At the same time, the leader expressed a wish that self-sufficiency should be given full priority.
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Enormous food shortages
Small crops and access to food are nothing new for North Korea, which is fighting an almost chronic shortage. About 40 percent of the country’s population is described as malnourished.
The closure of the borders also led to a sharp slowdown in trade with China, which caused further problems with supplies.
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However, at a general meeting of the North Korean Communist Party, the leader said that the economy improved this year, with a 25 percent increase in industrial production, compared to the year before, according to the state news agency KCNA.
Kim also advocated measures to reduce the damage caused by such natural disasters, and emphasized that ensuring a good harvest is a “top priority”.
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UN: They starve to death
In another acknowledgment of the country’s disability, Kim asked the people in April to steel themselves for “the worst situation of all time.”
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea, Tomas Ojea Quintana, said in March that the impact of the pandemic contributed to North Koreans starving to death.
North Korea’s nationwide famine suffered in the 1990s, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, as the fall of the Soviet Union left the country without vital support.
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