Food shortage in N. Korea overblown

By Na Jeong-ju

North Korea appears to be cutting food rations for its people and soldiers to make the world believe that the food shortage there is becoming serious and deceptively receive more aid from South Korea and other nations, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

“The food shortage in North Korea could be overblown,” a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity.

“In recent weeks, the Stalinist country has begged for food from many countries, even some poor African nations, saying that it’s becoming difficult to feed its people due to poor harvests. The problem is that we don’t know if that’s true.”

A number of international NGOs, after visiting North Korea at the invitation of the Kim Jong-il regime, called for food aid and humanitarian assistance for the North Korean population. Reports said Pyongyang has sent an unprecedented order to all its embassies to appeal to foreign governments for food aid.

According to another diplomatic source, North Korea asked for rice from South Korea when the two sides had contact to discuss a possible summit.

“It repeatedly demanded rice from us without showing any sincerity about addressing its military provocations last year,” the source said.

The North seems desperate now to secure food, but many South Korean officials doubt whether the situation is actually serious enough to warrant aid.

“Given North Korea’s food rationing system, people are starving now mainly due to a decrease of food supplies from authorities. Our question is whether the North really has little food to provide to its people. It’s impossible to verify that at the moment,” the presidential aide said.

He alleged that the regime could have enough food for its soldiers and people, saying it may have a political motive in worsening the situation.

Next year, North Korea marks the centennial of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the nation’s founder and father of the current leader Kim Jong-il. It has vowed to become a “strong and prosperous” country in that same year.

Korea experts forecast that the reclusive country will officially designate Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il’s third son who was promoted last year to a top military post, as his successor, also in 2012.

“It is possible that Pyongyang could normalize food rations next year in a bid to raise public support for the new leader and ensure a successful power transfer,” the source said.

North Korea has demanded resumption of the six-nation denuclearization talks as well as inter-Korean dialogue, which had served as a major source of resources and food for the poor country. The South has maintained that the North should show sincerity in addressing its attacks on the South and to apologize first before restarting the talks.

“We will engage in both multilateral and bilateral efforts to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program,” another source said.

“There has been active communication among the nations to move the denuclearization process forward and deal with the inter-Korean tensions, but it doesn’t guarantee a complete turnaround in inter-Korean relations.”

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