More ‘Self-Reliance’ as Citizens Fight Drought

Local citizens and soldiers are
battling the threat of drought damage in Gangwon Province, Hwanghae
Province and the city of Kaesong, Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA) reported
on the 23rd.

“It has
rained for a few days in localized areas including Pyongyang City and Pyongan
Province, but there has been none in areas of ongoing drought, such
as Kaesong City, Gangwon Province and most areas of Hwanghae Province,” the
report explained. “The agricultural sector is experiencing severe shortages of water
for irrigation.”

Weather
reports published by South Korea’s meteorological service show that there has
in fact been modest precipitation in the areas mentioned in the KCNA report. In
the period June 1st-23rd, 24mm of rain fell in Kaesong, 28mm in the city of
Sariwon in western North Hwanghae Province, and 16.1mm over easterly Gangwon Province.
However, these figures compare very unfavorably with annual averages of 112.3mm,
74.8mm and 132.3mm respectively.

“Tens of
thousands of jeongbo (North Korean
unit for farmland area: 1 jeongbo = 9,917 m2)
of paddy are drying up and this is affecting crop growth,” the report said. “In
farming regions of Hwanghae Province, Kaesong City and surrounding regions, the
drought is being fought by the military and people together. Not only
agricultural workers, but also many soldiers, laborers, office workers and
housewives are participating.”

The news
that the North Korean authorities are mobilizing citizens in some areas suggests that they are seeking to prevent the worst-case scenario where the drought
dramatically affects corn and rice yields. However, while the Kim Jong Eun regime has
emphasized the need to raise living standards and develop the rural economy in
order to improve productivity, there is little money for investment on modernizing agriculture.

“Whenever
anything happens, the North Korean authorities’ policy is just to mobilize the people
to try and fix it, and that is the case for drought, too,” one senior North
Korean defector told Daily NK on the 24th. “When they establish
plans, there should be a stronger focus on building facilities that directly
affect the people’s everyday lives, instead of this focus on aesthetically
pleasing entertainment facilities.”

“If there
are no trees on the mountains and, as a consequence, there is a shortage of
water in the reservoirs, the effects of even slightly reduced rainfall can be
drastic. Because North Korea is trying to use manual labor to solve the problem
without having any concrete plan, the people are exhausted. May was the month
of ‘rice planting’ and now June has become the month for ‘transporting water’,” he added.