North Korea's Kim calls food situation 'tense' as reports of shortages mount
Source: Washington Post
Asia & Pacific
North Korea’s Kim calls food situation ‘tense’ as reports of shortages mount
By Simon Denyer
June 16, 2021 at 3:05 a.m. EDT
TOKYO — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called the country's food situation "tense," state media reported Wednesday, amid mounting reports of shortages.
Opening a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s central committee, Kim claimed the economy had improved this year, with industrial production up 25 percent from a year earlier, and he generally struck a more upbeat tone than in February, when he had admitted the country’s economic plan had “failed tremendously.”
Nevertheless, Kim’s admission about food shortages speaks of a problem that can’t be glossed over.
Last year, North Korea faced its worst slump in more than two decades, experts say, largely due to the self-imposed closure of the border with China, a measure designed to keep the coronavirus pandemic at bay. There were reports of acute power cuts and factory closures, with coal and fertilizer production hit by electricity shortages and lack of spare parts.
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By Simon Denyer
Simon Denyer is The Washington Post’s bureau chief in Tokyo, covering Japan and the Koreas. He previously worked as The Post's bureau chief in Beijing and New Delhi; as a Reuters bureau chief in Washington, New Delhi and Islamabad; and a Reuters correspondent in Nairobi, New York and London. Twitter https://twitter.com/simondenyer
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/northkorea-food-shortage-kim/2021/06/16/fb745272-ce5a-11eb-a224-bd59bd22197c_story.html
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Don't be a murderous dictator and the majority of the world won't treat you like one.
They might even help out when you're having shortages like this.
I do feel bad for the people in North Korea that are suffering because of him and his family's regime.
