North Korea is facing a food shortage of about 860,000 tonnes this year, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said, warning that the population may not be getting enough food next month.
North Korea, which is subject to various international sanctions imposed in response to the communist regime’s nuclear program, is constantly struggling with food insecurity.
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Last year, the situation was further complicated by a pandemic, as well as summer storms and floods.
Although Pyongyang has long claimed that no cases of infection have been identified in the country, which experts question, North Korea has suffered heavy economic losses as a result of quarantine measures.
North Korean leader Kim Chenun said last month that the food situation in the country was “tense”, raising fears of a recurrence of the famine that the communist regime experienced in the 1990s, killing hundreds of thousands of people.
North Korea is forecast to harvest an “almost average” grain harvest of 5.6 million tonnes this year, according to the FAO.
That is about 1.1 million tons less to feed the entire population of the country. Commercial imports are projected at 205,000 tonnes, leaving North Korea with a food shortage of 860,000 tonnes.
“If this gap is not properly filled with commercial imports and / or food aid, households could face a severe period of deprivation from August to October,” warns the FAO.-
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