Food Shortage in North Korea and International Assistance

It has been a year since the demise of former North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, and the advent of the new regime led by Kim Jong-un. North Korea's young leader, at his age of 29, has attracted international attention due to his background and experiences, such as his European study-abroad portfolio and frequent public appearances — just some of the attributes that were sharply distinguished from that of his father's. There were rampant speculations regarding economic reforms in North Korea as the country's official media has started to release more reports on economic issues and reiterated the importance of revitalizing the economy after on March 2012 when the official mourning period for Kim Jong-il ended. However, there has been no significant progress in North Korea's economic policies during the past year with Kim Jong-un's leadership in place. The implementation of new economic management policies, known as the "June 28 Measure," have not been officially announced. The main contents of this measure are said to be changes in the management system of cooperative farms, greater autonomy for state-owned enterprises, and reforms of wages and the distribution system. Although there are some rumors that reforms in the agricultural sector have been implemented in some areas in North Korea on a trial basis, up until now, there are no signs of concrete reform measures being placed. It is believed that Kim Jong-un, whose utmost goal is to consolidate his political power, must have concerned that socioeconomic disorder and subsequent weakening of political control can take place when changes in its economic system and newly implemented policies fail. For the time being, it is not likely that new reform policies starkly distinguished from the previous ones are pushed ahead in the Kim Jong-un regime due to its emphasis on the adherence to political guidelines on the accomplishment of Kim Jong-il’s previous instructions. It is estimated that North Korea's food production increased in 2012. Food shortage in North Korea has been somewhat mitigated with the increase in domestic production of staple crops. According to an FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) in October 2012, food production in North Korea is estimated to reach 4.92 million tons in the 2012/13 marketing year. Harvests of staple crops, such as rice and maize, were relatively good in 2012, increasing by about 10%. However, food shortage is still a major problem in North Korea and vulnerable groups are continuously facing severe malnutrition. The FAO/WFP Mission (2012) anticipated that North Korea would lack 507,000 tons of food by fall of 2013 if there is no external assistance. North Korea's food situation has been influenced by weather conditions on the state of its crops, its commercial import capacity, the amount of foreign food assistance and the supply of fertilizer, the price of domestic cereals in farmers' markets, and international food prices (Kwon and Nam 2010). These various contributory factors reflect the weak structure of the agriculture sector and related shortcomings in the economy.