The BBC obtained important information about the food issue in interviews through its local sources in North Korea. Experts state that the worst situation has been experienced in North Korea since 1990, while people are claimed to be starving to death in their homes.
ALLEGED PEOPLE ARE DIE OF STARTER…
It is claimed that the country is on the verge of a new “disaster” similar to the famine in the 1990s in terms of food problems and hunger in North Korea.
Analyzing the statements in the BBC’s interviews, experts said that “the worst situation since the 1990s, when hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives due to famine” in North Korea.
“It is very worrying that middle-class people are starving where they live,” said North Korean economist Peter Ward. said.
Noting that they have not yet spoken of a full-scale social collapse and mass starvation, Ward argued that North Korea is “on the verge of a serious famine” at the “catastrophic” level.
STATEMENT FROM THE AUTHORIZED NAME: “THE HARDEST PERIODS IN NORTH KOREAN HISTORY…”
Hanna Song, director of North Korea’s Human Rights Data Center (NKDB), which documents human rights abuses in the country, said: “We’ve had very few reports of food shortages in the last 10-15 years. But the current situation takes us back to the most difficult times in North Korea’s history.” used the phrase.
“WE THINK WE ARE GOING TO DIE OF CONTINUOUS STARTER”
The woman from Pyongyang, nicknamed Ji Yeon in the interview, said she had witnessed her neighbors, a family of three, die of hunger. “We knocked on their door to give them water, but no one answered. The authorities said they found them dead when they entered.” she said.
Ji Yeon stated that people are talking about people who commit suicide in their homes or go to the mountains to disappear and die because they cannot make a living.
Expressing that his family is in a tough struggle to meet their food needs, Ji Yeon said that they live in constant fear of starvation.
A LARGER DISASTER THAN COVID-19
A North Korean construction worker, nicknamed Chan Ho, who lives near the Chinese border, also stated that there are very few food sources and five people died of hunger in his village, saying, “At first I was afraid of dying from Kovid-19, but then I started to worry about dying of hunger.” used the phrase.
Noting that a friend’s son had recently witnessed the executions behind closed doors, Chan Ho said, “Every time, 3-4 people were killed because they tried to escape. It is getting harder to live with each passing day. You are facing a wrong move and execution. We are stuck here waiting to die. ” he said.
The marketer living in the north of the country, nicknamed Myong Suk, said that almost three-quarters of the products on the market came from China before the bans, but that the markets remained “empty” after the borders were closed in 2020.
Stating that more than a thousand people crossed the Yalu River every year before the Kovid-19 era and brought food products illegally from China, Myong Suk said, “Currently, even if you approach the river, you will be severely punished, so this has become almost impossible.” said.
NO ONE LIKES NORTH KOREA’S LEADER KIM JONG-UN
Myong Suk said, “Before Covid-19, people looked favorably on Kim Jong-un, but now almost no one is happy.” used the phrase.
Commenting on interviews with North Koreans, defector former North Korean diplomat Ryu Hyun Woo said he was shocked by how extreme the crackdown on foreign influence had become.
Woo said, “Kim Jong-un is afraid that people will start to hate him and revolt if he realizes the situation they are in and how rich South Korea is.” used the phrase.
AUTHORIZED NAME DENIED THE CLAIMS
Pyongyang’s representative in London claimed that they put the interests of their citizens first.
A representative from the North Korean Embassy in London, whose views were asked about the content of the interviews and expert comments, said, “The well-being of the people is our top priority, even in the face of trials and difficulties.” said.
Claiming that the recordings were “obtained from fabricated statements by anti-North Korean forces,” the representative said none of the allegations were factual.
It is stated that hundreds of thousands of people died in the country due to the famine in the 1990s in North Korea.
The Pyongyang administration had closed its borders in 2020 due to the Kovid-19 outbreak, stopping the flow of shipments of essential living supplies, mostly from China. (AA)