North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has formally acknowledged that the country is facing food shortages. Addressing a meeting of senior leaders, Kim said the people’s food situation is now getting tense. He said the agricultural sector had failed to meet its grain targets because of last year’s typhoons, which caused widespread flooding. There are some reports that food prices have spiked. The NK News reports that a kg of bananas cost $45.
North Korea has closed its borders to contain the spread of COVID-19. Trade with China has plummeted as a result. North Korea relies on China for food, fertiliser and fuel. North Korea is also struggling under international sanctions, imposed because of its nuclear programmes.
The authoritarian leader of the single-party state talked about the food situation at the ruling Workers’ Party central committee which began this week in the capital Pyongyang.
During the meeting,Kim said that national industrial output had grown by a quarter compared to the same period last year.
Officials were expected to discuss relations with the US and South Korea during the event but no details have been released yet.
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