Vikrant Shekhawat : Jun 16, 2021, 01:05 PM
North Korea | Trade came to a standstill due to the closure of the border, then storms and floods hit, and now the Corona crisis has broken North Korea's back. Meanwhile, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has warned of the possibility of a food crisis in the country and called on people to support the restrictions imposed to stop the spread of Covid-19. Kim made the remarks at a major political conference to discuss national efforts to save the faltering economy.North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said on Wednesday that Kim Jong Un called for discussion on how North Korea should deal with the current international situation. However, she did not mention any comments Kim made about the US or South Korea.North Korea's already shaky economy has been further battered by halting trade with China due to border closures in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and crop damage caused by frequent storms and floods last summer. Observers assessing the situation in North Korea have yet to show signs of starvation, but some analysts say the situation could be heading towards it.The Korean Development Institute, a South Korean government think-tank, said last month that North Korea could face a food shortage of about one million tonnes this year. On Tuesday, during a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's central committee, Kim urged officials to find ways to increase agricultural production, saying the food situation in the country was getting tense.KCNA said that Kim called for the country to be corona virus-free, indicating that the lockdown would be extended to contain the epidemic despite the pressure on the economy. Experts are deeply skeptical of North Korea's claim that there has not been a single case of Kovid-19 in the country.