People in North Korea are starving to death, reveal leaked interviews from the country
North Korean farmers at work near DMZ in 2005. Photo: AFP
In one of the world's most isolated countries, North Korea, the population is facing its worst food crisis since the 1990s famine. There have been reports that the country is on the brink of famine, and the latest reports point to a desperate situation unravelling for even the considerably well-to-do North Koreans.
While getting to know the reality of the situation in North Korea is extremely difficult, BBC recently published secret interviews it conducted with ordinary North Koreans with the help of the Daily NK organisation that maintains a network of sources inside the country.
The picture painted is that of a country battling starvation, executions over flouting even the littlest of rules, and no chances of escape.
Snapshot of food crisis in North Korea
North Korea has always struggled with enough agricultural produce to feed all its citizens. Seoul's rural development agency says that North Korea's crop production fell by nearly 4% in 2022 due to natural and economic factors and a lack of infrastructure.
This year has been particularly bad because North Korea has closed off its borders, there are no grain imports from China or elsewhere, and the Kim Jong-un regime has called aid "poison candy".
What's happening in North Korea?
- Myung Suk, living in the north of North Korea along the border with China, used to make a living by selling smuggled medicines from China. But her business has been hit ever since North Korea closed its borders with China due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Chan Ho (name changed), a construction worker working near China border said the price of rice, corn, and seasonings has soared in their local markets.
- His meagre income of about $4-$3 (Rs 350) is no longer enough to buy a kilo of rice and markets are running out of supply. Comparatively in India, you can buy a kilo of rice for Rs 100 or less.
- Chan Ho depends on income from his wife. He says he doesn't remember the last time he got a ration from the state.
- He also knows a few cases of starvation. The first one in his village to succumb to starvation was a mother and her two children. The mother had become too sick and weak to work from starvation and soon the children also died of the same.
- Then a mother and her son died after being sentenced to hard labour for violating quarantine rules.
- During Covid-19 breakout in North Korea, harsh quarantine rules and the consequences of violating them resulted in people starving to death while locked in their homes. Only those who violated the rules were able to survive.
- In another case, a young man was released from the military because he was too malnourished. He died a week later.
- The situation isn't much different in the relatively affluent Pyongyang. Ji Yeon (name changed) who works at a food shop in Pyongyang says she's had to starve to keep her children fed. She once went without food for two days and thought she'd die in her sleep.
- She used to sneak fruits and vegetables from the food shop to sell them at the local markets along with cigarettes smuggled by her husband, but now her bags are thoroughly searched.
- Ji Yeon also knows of starvation. Her neighbours in the apartment starved to death.
Increasing suicides
Recently, Kim Jong-un "banned" suicides in North Korea, calling it treason. Suicide rates have increased by 40% since last year in North Korea. Many of the suicides are attributed to starvation and poverty.
On the other hand, escaping is risky. Even approaching the river along the China border can get you killed instantly. Even if families break rules to survive, there are spies everywhere, as neighbours and friends, and they risk getting caught.
A few months earlier, Kim Jong-un ordered agricultural improvement and even seemed to acknowledge a "food crisis", but he's refused to use any money to get aid or help. Instead, much of the investment has gone into developing nuclear programs and the military.