The National Defense Commission of North Korea has handed down the order to distribute to the Army emergency food provisions for the reserve forces in wartime as the country faces serious food shortages and is having difficulty supplying food to the military.
In a phone conversation with Daily NK on May 19, a source from North Korea said, “On May 14, the National Defense Commission issued an order to chief secretaries and Civil Defense Departments of each province to release food reserved for the reserve forces in wartime to the Army and to officials at major institutions.”
North Korea built in each city and country what is called “The Storage Number 2”- a place to stockpile food collected from regional Food Policy Departments and collective farms under the pretext of procuring war supplies in order to provide food for the preserve forces in times of emergency. The order is to release food from this storage facility.
Apart from operating “The Storage Number 2,” North Korea’s military authorities also had each military unit store up food for their own use in times of war. It is reported that the Workers’ Party has been stockpiling wartime food provisions in substantial quantities in places like Sungcheon, Heecheun, and Kangkye.
The source said, “Without issuing any official order, the state started retrieving food from “the Storage Number 2” and provided it to some military units and workers at munitions factories starting in early May. The said order was issued as the state ran out of food needed to feed the military by and large.”
The source said, “As a result of the order, military units that have food invoices issued by designated the food policy department of People’s Committees in each city and county can receive provisions at their neighboring Food Policy Departments under the auspices of the Civil Defense Department. The National Security Agency, the Social Safety Agencies and the party committee in each province can also receive food at their designated Food Policy Departments.”
The source continued, “Officials at the People’s Safety Agency and the Prosecutor Office can receive food for their workers, but not for their dependent families. And workers at munitions factories too may probably receive food for themselves only.”
The source said, “There will be fierce competition among those institutions allowed to receive food by the order of the National Defense Commission. Officials in charge of food policy at people’s committees in cities already worry about the situation.”
“War supplies stored at ‘The Storage Number 2’ include South Korean rice, Annam rice (wild rice), corn, soybeans, and dried potatoes. The military and provincial party authorities will get South Koran rice or Annam rice whereas institutions such as National Security Agency, the Social Security Agency and the Prosecution will receive corn or beans,” the source said.
The source predicted that officials working at the people’s committees and individuals in charge of providing food will have trouble if fierce competition arises for better quality rice among the institutions.
