Mick Hartley

A sign of things to come? – or just a tragic one-off?

A mother and her daughter have starved to death in a rural area of Yangkang Province due to drastically reduced food circulation within North Korea since the November 30th redenomination, according to a report from an inside source.

A source from Yangkang Province reported the tragedy to The Daily NK today, “In Gapsan, Ms. Shin, who made her living selling noodles, and her 11-year old daughter were found dead from starvation.”

The source said, “Due to the bill exchange, business went bad and the authorities are cracking down on private trade in food, so problems for the poor have been getting serious.

As noted previously, winter prospects aren't looking good for North Koreans, after a poor harvest – nevermind the effective destruction of the local markets after the currency revaluation; often the only means by which local people could survive.