North Korea food shortage worsening, says South Korea

South Korea said this week that North Korea’s food crisis appears to be worsening. This follows a media report that Pyongyang has cut food rations to its troops for the first time in over 20 years.

The South Korean unification ministry said on Wednesday that the food shortage North Korea is experiencing appears to have worsened. The ministry said that Pyongyang has acknowledged a serious food shortage, referring to a report by North Korean state media this month on the isolated nation’s ruling Workers Party to have an “urgent” meeting to address agriculture.

The South Korean DongA Ilbo news outlet reported that North Korea has also reduced the daily food rations of its soldiers for the first time since 2000, according to a South Korean official familiar with the matter. While the unification ministry could not verify the outlet’s report, it said it was monitoring the situation along with other agencies.

North Korea has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades including famine in the 1990s usually as a result of natural calamities like floods damaging harvests.

Regarding the North Korean state media report on the ruling party’s meeting on agriculture, the unification ministry said it was rare for Pyongyang to call for such a meeting. South Korean unification minister Kwon Young-se told parliament that the recent reports of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter appearing for the first time at state events may be an effort to shore up unity and loyalty to the ruling family in the face of worsening humanitarian issues in the country.

“North Korea’s food situation doesn’t seem very good,” said Kwon. “We’re seeing a number of signs…though it doesn’t yet look like there’s a stream of people starving to death.”

Kwon added that North Korea has asked the United Nations World Food Programme for help but talks did not make progress due to the differences over aid monitoring.

Meanwhile, North Korean state media KCNA shared video footage that seemed to suggest that Pyongyang has set up a new military unit tasked with operating the nation’s new intercontinental ballistic missiles. The formation of the unit is in line with Pyongyang’s recent restructuring of its army.