The country that committed to making nuclear weapons is facing severe scarcity of food and starvation. North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un has admitted and warned of severe food shortages ahead in the country.
He said that the food situation in the country is tense. One of the clearest indicators of shortages is a rise in the price of basic foods. But prices of rice and fuel in the country have remained stable. It is not the first time that country has suffered deadly famines. North Korea faced devastating famine even in 1990's which claimed three million lives.
Coffee is selling for around Rs. 7,300 per one packet whereas Bananas are selling Rs. 3K per kg. A bottle of shampoo costs at 14,828/-. Corn is a less preferred staple than rice, but is often consumed because it's cheaper. Kim has blamed typhoons and floods that hit the nation in 2020 crop failure. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has declared North Korea has short by 8.6 lakh tonnes of food and is doubtful how the nation would overcome the crisis. The Korean peninsula was hit by a series of typhoons which made landfall within the space of two weeks in August and September, a period which coincides with the start of the harvest of rice and corn.
It is a very pathetic situation for farmers in the country. They reportedly asked to contribute 2 litres of urine every day to help produce fertilizer. No complaints in North Korea on coronavirus positive cases. Kim controlled the pandemic effectively but his precautionary steps lead to starvation in North Korea. Kim says a series of floods are the reason for crop failure. In addition to floods, North Korea closed it's borders to prevent covid-19 for a long time and International sanctions imposed against the nation for making nuclear weapons caused a shortage of the food. It depends more on China for food, fertilizer and fuel. Due to the closing of borders North Korea can't import these things from China.
Comments