Thread by @TelegraphWorld

🇰🇵 North Korea is facing a major food shortage that could cause millions of deaths.

➡️A new report has revealed that people are selling off household items just to buy food to eat, prompting fears of a repeat of the deadly 1990s famine

Thread 🧵
telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/0…

👨‍🌾The report estimated that North Korea produced just under 4 million tonnes of grain crops last year.

This is far short of the estimated 5.2 million tonnes needed to sustain its population of nearly 26 million

🇰🇵North Korea’s main agricultural regions were affected by bad weather once again last year.

A series of powerful typhoons and floods destroyed crops

🌍Moreover, the government’s decision to close its border with China as a coronavirus preventive measure has also had an impact.

It prevented imports of staple foodstuffs, chemical fertilisers for crops, and replacement parts for the country's increasingly ageing farm machinery

🗣️“We are hearing through our contacts that people there are suffering and dying,” said Young-chae Song, a human rights activist

“South Korea has offered to provide food and other aid, but the North has not even replied."

➡️The World Food Programme has previously estimated that 10.3 million people - more than 40% of the population - were already undernourished before the nation’s borders were closed and all aid agencies kicked out last year during the pandemic

Analysts say that to avoid a repeat of the 1990s famine - where 3.5 million people starved to death - the North now has little choice but to appeal to China, its sole major ally, for food assistance

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telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/0…