Economic crisis in North Korea ‘is like the famine of the 1990s’, says Kim

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for waging another “arduous march” to fight severe economic difficulties, for the first time comparing them to a 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Mr Kim had previously said his country faces the “worst-ever” situation due to several factors, including the coronavirus pandemic, US-led sanctions and heavy flooding last summer. But it’s the first time he publicly drew parallel with the deadly famine.

Monitoring groups haven’t noted any signs of a humanitarian disaster. But Mr Kim’s comments still suggest how seriously he views the current difficulties – which foreign observers say are the biggest test of his nine-year rule.

“There are many obstacles and difficulties ahead of us, and so our struggle for carrying out the decisions of the Eighth Party Congress would not be all plain sailing,” Mr Kim told lower-level ruling party members yesterday, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

“I made up my mind to ask the WPK (Workers’ Party of Korea) organisations at all levels, including its Central Committee and the cell secretaries of the entire party, to wage another more difficult ‘arduous march’ in order to relieve our people of the difficulty, even a little,” Mr Kim said.

The term “arduous march” is a euphemism that North Koreans use to describe the struggles during the 1990s famine, which was precipitated by the loss of Soviet assistance, decades of mismanagement and natural disasters. The exact death toll isn’t clear, varying from hundreds of thousands to 2 million to 3 million, and North Korea depended on international aid for years to feed its people.

During his opening day speech on Tuesday, Mr Kim said improving public livelihoods in the face of the “worst-ever situation” would depend on the party cells.

At the party congress in January, Mr Kim ordered officials to build stronger self-supporting economy, reduce reliance on imports and make more consumer goods.

But analysts are sceptical about Mr Kim’s push, saying the North’s problems are the result of poor management, self-imposed isolation and sanctions over his nuclear programme.

Chinese data show North Korea’s trade with China, its biggest trading partner and aid benefactor, shrank by about 80pc last year after Pyongyang’s border closure as part of stringent pandemic measures.

Experts say North Korea has no other option because a major Covid outbreak could have dire consequences on its broken health care system.

Cha Deok-cheol, deputy spokesman at South Korea’s Unification Ministry, told media yesterday there are multiple signs that North Korea is taking steps to ease control on its border with China. 

Some experts say North Korea’s difficulties will not lead to famine because China won’t let that happen. They say China fears North Korean refugees flooding over the border or the establishment of a pro-US unified Korea on its doorstep.

Online Editors