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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Another NKor famine this summer? |
| 2006-06-01 |
| From East Asia Intel, subscription. SEOUL — In North Korea, almost every year since the early 1990s has been characterized by hunger, especially for rural villagers. However, reports from North Koreans near Sino-North Korean border towns indicate that the situation this year is similar to those of 1994 and 1998, when great famines struck the country and hundreds of thousands starved to death. According to people in search of food coming to Yanji from the town of Musan, North Hamkyong Province, villagers call this spring “yellow spring,” meaning the spring sky looks yellow to their hungry eyes. A villager whose family name was Yi [Lee], said burglars even stole transformers from power stations to sell as scrap metal. Because so many thieves were around, most village families and many town people put wires over their windows and even on the roofs to keep burglars from taking their food or livestock. Yi said that most of his neighbors had been to China in search of food or to make money, but that he had never tried to cross the river. But this year he could not bear the hunger any longer so he joined three other town people and bribed border guards. Yi’s companion, named Choi, said he had been waiting for the government's promised produce distribution to come on April 1, but it never did. “After I got here, I learned April 1 is the ‘April Fools’ Day. We are April fools,” he said, laughing. Another man from near Musan, said: “I have bought lots of cigarettes and some spirits because we need them to pass the customs and border sentries and the party officials at home when we get back.” Other North Korean citizens in Yanji said after the July 1 reform measure in 2002, only powerful people receive grain distribution and ordinary citizens have to buy produce from the open market and government distribution centers. Although the official price for rice was 45 Won per kilogram and 25 Won for corn, they were trading for 950 Won and 350 Won at the market. “We have to live two weeks with five days of distribution. The old and the weak are dying now, just like in 1998,” said a man from Hoeryong, North Hamkyong Province. “The difference is that at that time the dying people blamed the United States' economic sanction on us. But now people blame the party.” Last month, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its report on North Korea’s 2006 grain production forecast, said the country would have a rice shortage of 900,000 tons, barring no natural disasters. The report predicted that about 3.9 million tons of rice would be harvested if the weather continued to be agreeable. Even though about 300,000 tons of rice would be aided by China and South Korea, North Korea would still need more than 150,000 tons more to feed its population. However, North Korea experts in South Korea point out that the distribution system has crumbled and, as a result, more produce is being held by powerful organizations and people, making life for the general public even more difficult. Another example of how socialism trickles down to the general populace. Literally a trickle. |
| Posted by:Alaska Paul |
| #2 Not even the Norkie Army is immune - despite their shiny uniforms and colored photos, you can still see or detect weakness and physical emaciation due to malnourishment. The only good these soldiers can do is to PC die believing they are librating South Korea when in reality the DPRK regime is trying to eliminate them as witnesses to Commie abuses in any post-war war crimes trials. Any and all witnesses are dead - what famine didn't kill, attacking South Korea did. OOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPSIES |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-06-01 22:12 |
| #1 a hungry army is something even Kimmy couldn't risk |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-06-01 17:39 |