North Korea’s food prices have stabilized to some degree, aided by grain imports from China, but the secretive regime still faces a serious food crisis, South Korea’s unification minister said Monday.
Unification Minister Kwon Young-se told a press briefing that deaths from starvation have occurred in some areas in North Korea, and the scope of such regions appears to have further expanded amid disruptions in the state-controlled food supply.
“North Korea’s food crisis stabilized a little bit after the North Korean leadership made efforts for food imports from China. But the country’s food situation is still very difficult,” Kwon said.
The minister made the assessment in a meeting with the press at Hanawon, a resettlement education center for North Korean defectors, in Anseong, 64 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
“Imports of rice and grain from China have helped stabilize the North’s food prices, which have shot up (due to a supply crunch). But the North’s food situation is still grave,” he added.
The South Korean government has said the North’s food situation appears to have deteriorated amid deepening economic hardships caused by border lockdowns to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and global sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs.
Touching on the health conditions of the North’s leader Kim Jong-un, Kwon said Kim appears to have no problem carrying out his official work despite some health issues.
“Kim’s family has a history of having some circulatory problems, and he weighs about 140 kilograms with a height of 170 centimeters. Kim is a heavy smoker and drinks alcohol a lot,” Kwon said.
“In this situation, Kim’s health does not appear good, but it is viewed as not serious enough to pose some problems for him to work,” he added.
South Korea’s intelligence agency earlier said Kim seems to be experiencing significant sleep disorders, leaving open the possibility for the North’s leader to fall into a vicious circle of depending more on alcohol and nicotine, and suffer worsening insomnia.
Source: Yonhap News Agency