North Korea Holds Agriculture Meeting Over Food Insecurity
2023-02-28
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1North Korea has held a major agriculture conference as experts warn about worsening food shortages in the country.
2State media reported North Korean leader Kim Jong Un began the high-level meeting of the ruling Workers' Party on Sunday.
3Officials said the purpose of the conference was to discuss ways to improve agriculture to strengthen North Korea's economy.
4The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Workers' Party leaders are seeking ways to establish a "rural revolution" for North Korea.
5The report said the meeting was meant to help identify "immediate, important" agricultural issues to help improve the state of "national economic development."
6KCNA did not say whether Kim spoke during the meeting or how long it would last.
7International experts have warned that food insecurity issues have worsened in North Korea.
8The difficulties are linked to economic restrictions placed on the country over its nuclear weapons and missile programs.
9In addition, lockdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic severely hurt the economy.
10Earlier this month, South Korea's unification ministry said the planned meeting to discuss agriculture added to evidence that the food situation in North Korea "seems to have deteriorated."
11The U.S.-based 38 North program is a policy group that watches developments in North Korea.
12It said in a report last month that "food availability has likely fallen below the bare minimum with regard to human needs."
13The group noted that food insecurity was at its worst level since severe starvation rates affected the country in the 1990s.
14Most experts have said North Korea's current food situation is not near the extremes of the 1990s, when hundreds of thousands of people died of starvation.
15However, some experts have said the country's food insecurity is likely at its worst point since Kim took power in 2011.
16North Korea needs about 5.5 million tons of grain each year to feed its 25 million people.
17Last year, the country's production was estimated to be 4.5 million tons.
18That was a 3.8 percent drop from 2020, South Korea's government estimates showed.
19It is not clear what action the meeting will result in.
20Some experts say North Korea will use the gathering to increase public support of Kim during his disputes with the United States and its allies over his nuclear weapons program.
21Although North Korea's economic situation remains difficult, Kim has pushed to expand his nuclear weapons and missile programs.
22He has sought to position North Korea as a nuclear power and has called for economic restrictions on the country to be removed.
23Last year was a record year for weapons testing activities in the country.
24This month, the North launched ballistic missiles and carried out tests on other weapons too.
25I'm Bryan Lynn.
1North Korea has held a major agriculture conference as experts warn about worsening food shortages in the country. 2State media reported North Korean leader Kim Jong Un began the high-level meeting of the ruling Workers' Party on Sunday. 3Officials said the purpose of the conference was to discuss ways to improve agriculture to strengthen North Korea's economy. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Workers' Party leaders are seeking ways to establish a "rural revolution" for North Korea. 4The report said the meeting was meant to help identify "immediate, important" agricultural issues to help improve the state of "national economic development." KCNA did not say whether Kim spoke during the meeting or how long it would last. 5International experts have warned that food insecurity issues have worsened in North Korea. The difficulties are linked to economic restrictions placed on the country over its nuclear weapons and missile programs. In addition, lockdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic severely hurt the economy. 6Earlier this month, South Korea's unification ministry said the planned meeting to discuss agriculture added to evidence that the food situation in North Korea "seems to have deteriorated." 7The U.S.-based 38 North program is a policy group that watches developments in North Korea. It said in a report last month that "food availability has likely fallen below the bare minimum with regard to human needs." The group noted that food insecurity was at its worst level since severe starvation rates affected the country in the 1990s. 8Most experts have said North Korea's current food situation is not near the extremes of the 1990s, when hundreds of thousands of people died of starvation. However, some experts have said the country's food insecurity is likely at its worst point since Kim took power in 2011. 9North Korea needs about 5.5 million tons of grain each year to feed its 25 million people. Last year, the country's production was estimated to be 4.5 million tons. That was a 3.8 percent drop from 2020, South Korea's government estimates showed. 10It is not clear what action the meeting will result in. Some experts say North Korea will use the gathering to increase public support of Kim during his disputes with the United States and its allies over his nuclear weapons program. 11Although North Korea's economic situation remains difficult, Kim has pushed to expand his nuclear weapons and missile programs. He has sought to position North Korea as a nuclear power and has called for economic restrictions on the country to be removed. 12Last year was a record year for weapons testing activities in the country. This month, the North launched ballistic missiles and carried out tests on other weapons too. 13I'm Bryan Lynn. 14The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 15__________________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17deteriorate - v. to become worse 18the bare minimum - n. the least possible amount 19ballistic missiles -n weapons that fly long distances across the Earth using rocket power and carry explosive devices 20______________________________________________________________________ 21What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 22Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.