North Korea might suffer mass Starvation, as shortage of Food due to pandemic & typhoons

 

The North's official Korean Central News Agency also said Wednesday that Kim called for discussions on how the North should deal with the "current international situation," though it did not mention any specific comments from Kim about the United States or South Korea.

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has warned of possible food shortages and called on his people to cooperate with the expanded COVID-19 limits as he opens a major political conference on national efforts to save the damaged economy.

An official official from North Korea's Central News Agency also said on Wednesday that Kim had called for talks on how the North should deal with "the current state of the world," although it did not say any direct comments from Kim about the United States or South Korea.

 

North Korea has so far ignored cooperation calls for a two-year nuclear deal following the collapse of Kim's summit with former President Donald Trump, which disrupted disagreements over a change in US-led sanctions on North American nuclear program.

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Meanwhile, the Northern economy has deteriorated sharply during the closure of the epidemic, which has reduced trade with China, during last summer's hurricane and floods.

 

North Korean observers are no longer seeing signs of extreme hunger or instability, but some analysts say that the situation may be accompanied by a favorable storm that is slowing down food and exchange markets and causing public panic. The Korea Development Institute, which is South Korea, says last month the North could face food shortages of about one million tons this year.

 

During a meeting of the ruling Workers ’Party’s Central Committee that opened on Tuesday, Kim urged officials to find ways to boost agricultural production, saying the country’s food situation was“ tense now ”.

 

KCNA said Kim had also "set jobs for the government to maintain a positive anti-epidemic situation" indicating that North Korea would increase its spread of the epidemic despite pressure on its economy.

 

Experts are more skeptical of North Korea's claim that we have never had a single case of COVID-19, due to its poor health infrastructure and dental border with China, its main partner and the economic life line.

Kim called for a party meeting to review national efforts to rebuild the economy in the first half of the year. Speaking about "unfavorable" conditions and challenges on Tuesday, Kim also expressed gratitude for what he described as development, saying industrial exports to the country had so far increased by 25% since last year, KCNA said.

The report said the Central Committee meeting would continue but did not say how long.

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North Korea held its first ruling party conference in five years in January where it set out development plans for the next five years. At the summit, Kim called on his people to intensify their struggle for economic independence, calling for stronger economic controls, increased agricultural production and the development of chemical and metallurgy industries.

Experts say those sectors are important in reviving North Korea's industrial production by sanctions and halting industrial imports during the epidemic.