Reports of people ‘starving’ as North Korea struggles to feed itself
United Nations Security Council sanctions, the COVID-19 closure of its border with China, and a 2020 drought followed by typhoon rains are combining to create severe food shortages in North Korea, with concerns growing about widespread malnutrition and a potential repeat of the country’s 1990s famine.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un acknowledged the problem at a June meeting of the Workers’ Party’s Central Committee.
In North Korea “10 million people are considered food insecure … 140,000 children under 5 suffer acute malnutrition … and higher rates of malnutrition and mortality are anticipated for 2021,” “Children under seven, pregnant and nursing women, the frail, the elderly … these are the people that are starving, right now,” “There are so many more beggars, some people died from hunger in the border area,”
“The people’s food situation is now getting tense,” Kim said according to North Korea’s state media, adding that the agricultural sector had failed to meet its grain production plan because of the damage by last year’s typhoons. Kim also mentioned the effect of COVID-19.
Sanctions crippling
Although analysts agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted the government to close its China border, has played a significant role in the now chronic food shortfalls, some have argued the source of the problem actually lies in 2017.
The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions 2375 and 2397 in September and December of 2017, to limit North Korea’s imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products.
Deprived of fuel, farmers have been hindered in planting and harvesting crops and getting their products to market.
Bron : Aljazeera