The South Korean Unification Ministry reported on Tuesday that the food situation in North Korea has improved compared to the first half of the year.
“The food situation in the north has likely changed, as the country has increased its food imports and made significant progress in harvesting barley and wheat.”
– A South Korean Unification Ministry official told reporters on Tuesday.
According to him, the cause of the food shortages witnessed in the first half of the year was primarily a problem of distribution, and not food shortages in the absolute sense.
Alexander Macegura, Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, said in an interview with the official Russian news agency that Russia offered food aid to North Korea, but Pyongyang rejected the offer, noting that it “can manage without outside help, because the harvest was good.” TASSZ Agency.
North Korea suffers from chronic food shortages, which have been exacerbated in previous years by global sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs, bad weather, and border closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Deaths due to hunger have been reported in some areas due to border closures and interruptions to state-controlled food supplies.
(MTI)
