As North Korea’s food shortages continue to worsen, the number of food-poor households is increasing in the country. Even people in Sinuiju, a city that sits on the China-North Korea border, have collapsed from starvation.
According to a North Pyongan Province-based source on Mar. 31, “Recently, people have starved to death in Sinuiju city limits.” He added that, “There are many households where three to four people collapse from starvation.”
Daily NK understands from sources in the country that there has been a recent increase in the number of households in urban and rural areas that are unable to eat even one proper meal a day. Essentially, there is no food, and food-poor households are increasing.
A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK in March that the number of food-poor households within North Korea has been increasing rapidly. Prior to that, a source from North Hamgyong Province reported that a local family died of starvation.
Even Sinuiju, a major city in the northwest region of North Korea, has recently run out of food. News that families in the city are starving to death has started to spread in the country.
Sinuiju has developed as a major base of China-North Korea trade and many North Koreans perceive Sinuiju as a relatively “good city to live in.” Recent news of people starving in the city, however, has shocked many in the country.
“After the Lunar New Year’s holiday, people began dying of starvation [in the city],” the source said. “Last year, there were people dying of starvation in villages near the outskirts of Sinuiju. This year, with less food to go around compared to last year and starvation deaths happening inside the city, people are becoming more afraid [of food shortages].”
The source went on to report that, “I’ve heard that deaths due to starvation have occurred from Manpo-dong in the north to the southern part of the city. People generally thought the food situation was better in these areas because some people have private plots of land to farm on, but even those areas are facing difficulties [from food shortages].”
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, North Korean authorities are forbidding the movement of people in the country under the pretext of preventing spread of the virus. North Koreans can neither dig up wild vegetables in the mountains nor go fishing in rivers. As a result, the number of households that cannot hold out any longer is increasing, the source said.
Given these circumstances, the feeling among many North Koreans is one of growing fear over food shortages. Some are evening saying that “dying of starvation is scarier than COVID-19,” according to the source.
Translated by Jason Mallet
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
