North Korea has warned its citizens to expect to eat less food until it re-opens its borders with China in 2025.
According to RFA, North Koreans are already suffering from food shortages. Officials told citizens to tighten their belts for at most three more years.
However, many people have already complained about how difficult it would be to make it through the winter, let along for multiple years.
As a precautionary measure, North Korea sealed its border with China in Jan 2020 to stop the spread of coronavirus.
North Korea has warned its citizens to expect to eat less food when it re-opens its borders with China in 2025. North Koreans are already facing food shortages. Kim Jong Un’s (pictured), government advised citizens to tighten up for at least three more years.
However, the move had a serious effect on the country’s economy. Prices for everyday goods rose sharply as the demand exceeded supply.
A resident of Sinuiju spoke out about the new government guidance. He said that people were warned that there was no chance of opening the border with China again before 2025.
They said that the food situation was already an emergency and that people are facing severe shortages. When the authorities tell them that they need to conserve and consume less food until 2025… they can do nothing but feel great despair.’
Despite the hardships facing the North Korean people, Kim Jong Un continues to promote the idea of self-reliance despite the difficulties.
However, the North Korean government blames external factors for their food shortages, citing sanctions, natural disasters, and the global coronavirus epidemic. Pictured: North Korean farmers harvesting their rice on October 19, 2021
This message was further encouraged in July when then Central Committee instructed the public to begin growing their own crops in anticipation of shortages.
However, with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimating that North Korea is short around 860,000 tons of food this year, the Sinuiju resident said that contempt is growing among the people.
The resident said that they told us to endure hardships until 2025, which is the same thing as telling us to starve.
Another source claimed that the North Korean government was trying to create food shortages due to their Covid-19 strategy. They claim it has worked well.
However, the government has blamed external causes for their food shortages, citing natural disasters, sanctions and the global coronavirus outbreak.
Last year, severe flooding in North Korea left hundreds without homes and damaged vital crops. This year, crops were also affected by droughts and subsequent flooding.
According to North Korea’s state TV, heavy rains from northeastern North Korea in August caused the destruction or flooding of 1,170 homes and forced 5,000 people to flee their homes.
The downpour in South Hamgyong Province washed away hundreds of hectares of farmlands and destroyed many bridges. Footage showed houses that were submerged beneath their red-brick roofs. A severed bridge was also seen over muddy waters and a swollen River.
Kim acknowledged that there is a ‘tense food situation’ that could get worse if all crops fail. This is in addition to the strict self-imposed movement and border restrictions that have slowed down trade to a trickle. Pictured: File photo of men plowing a North Korean field in July 2017.
Poor drainage, deforestation and crumbling infrastructure in this impoverished country often cause serious flooding in North Korea’s summer rains.
Kim acknowledged a “tense” food situation that could worsen should all crops fail. This is in addition to the strict self-imposed movement and border restrictions that have slowed down trade to a trickle.
North Korea is a mountainous state. This means that it is hard to find suitable land for agriculture and that many farmers do not have access to tools such tractors, combine harvesters, or threshers.
According to some estimates, North Korea is dependent on foreign aid and imports to provide food for around a third or more of its population.
Even with these imports a UN report in 2017 found that two fifths of the world’s population is undernourished. That means they don’t have enough calories per day to maintain a healthy body weight.
One third of North Korean children are thought to be stunted. This means that they didn’t get enough calories in the early years.