Mick Hartley

Now the UN acknowledges the dire situation in North Korea:

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has warned that North Korea is likely to face a severe food shortage amid a total border lockdown.

"With commercial imports officially planned at 205,000 tons, the uncovered food gap is estimated at about 860,000 tons, equivalent to approximately 2.3 months of food use," an FAO report early this week warned.

Domestically, the North is only capable of harvesting a "near average level" of 5.6 million tons of crops this year.

Unless the supply gap is "adequately covered through commercial imports and/or food aid, households could experience a harsh lean period from August to October, when the 2021 main season crops will be available for consumption," it added.

North Korea sealed its borders at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in a catastrophic drop in supplies from China. 

I wouldn't be so sure about the 2021 season crops. We heard last month that there were serious problems with the corn harvest: insufficient supplies of basic agricultural supplies such as fertilizer and farm machinery, combined with a lack of proper manpower, have reportedly caused the fields to be overrun by weeds. Which implies that the hard times aren't going to end any time soon.