Monster storm feared to worsen North Korea's food crisis

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

North Korea

Sun, October 1, 2023 | 01:09

Monster storm feared to worsen North Korea's food crisis

Posted : 2022-09-05 16:16

Updated : 2022-09-05 19:28

Typhoon Hinnamnor, lower left, is seen moving gradually toward the Korean Peninsula, in this Sept. 4 composite image released by NASA. The storm is feared to worsen North Korea's already-serious food shortage problem. AP-Yonhap

Pyongyang calls for utmost efforts to protect crops

By Jung Min-ho

A monster typhoon ― packing violent winds and heavy rains ― is set to hit North Korea amid its struggle with infectious diseases, adding to concerns about food shortages.

According to Pyongyang's weather agency Monday, it is forecast to come under the influence of Typhoon Hinnamnor the following day. The tropical storm, the strongest one so far this year, is approaching the Korean Peninsula after slamming Okinawa, where more than 100,000 residents were advised to evacuate to shelters.

North Korean authorities have been scrambling to inspect the infrastructure at high risk of flooding or collapsing while ordering fishing boats in the sea to return to ports for safety, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The Rodong Sinmun, Pyongyang's official mouthpiece, called for utmost effort minimize the damage from the typhoon.

"If we fail to prevent damage from the storm, we will lose the precious crops we have been trying hard to grow throughout spring and summer seasons," the paper said.

It also shared tips for how to protect some of the most storm-vulnerable crops, such as corn.

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A heavy rain advisory was issued for regions in the eastern Gangwon Province, the border city of Kaesong and the southern areas of Hwanghae Province as up to 100 millimeters to 150 millimeters of rainfall is expected to pound the regions.

The timing is concerning as North Korea is still reeling from flood damage only a month earlier in much of its land, including the capital and the northwestern city of Sinuiju.

The KCNA and the newspaper also urged the public to take precaution against waterborne infectious diseases, which, along with COVID-19, has put the North Korean government on high alert this year.

Human rights activists worry that the mix of natural disasters and epidemics may exacerbate food shortages in the North, which has never had enough food for the general public even before the pandemic and the international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.

An annual United Nations report on food security released in July found that 41.6 percent of North Koreans are undernourished from 2019 to 2021, a jump from 33.8 percent from 2004 to 2006.

North Korean farmers are seen from the Unification Observatory in Paju, a South Korean city near the inter-Korean border, Sept. 2. Yonhap

No response to Seoul's request over dam water release

The Ministry of Unification said it once again asked the North Korean government to provide prior notice water releases from dams near the inter-Korean border, with the storm expected to dump massive levels of rain. So far, there has been no response.

"We attempted to make another formal request under the name of the unification minister to North Korea, asking for prior notice in case it decides to release water from dams near the border area in consideration of concerns over damage from Typhoon Hinnamnor," Cho Joong-hoon, spokesman for the ministry, said during a press briefing. "But the North ended the call without clearly stating whether it was willing to accept it."

Kim Jun-rak, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, told reporters that the North appears to have released water from Hwanggang Dam recently in a violation of a 2009 inter-Korean agreement. Pyongyang did the same about a month ago when downpours hit both the South and the North.

The dam, which was constructed on the Imjin River in 2007, is situated 42 kilometers north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. North Korea agreed two years later to give prior notice to the South after six South Koreans were killed in Yeoncheon one month earlier as a result of its massive release of water from the dam without notification.

Meanwhile, South Korean officials are paying attention to North Korea's upcoming political events this week ― the Supreme People's Assembly (Wednesday) and the 74th anniversary of its foundation (Friday) ― after it recently turned down their offer for economic support in return for giving up nuclear weapons.

mj6c2@koreatimes.co.kr