North Korea’s Kim Jong calls for ‘fundamental transformation’ in agriculture as food crisis worsens

As North Korea struggles with food shortage woes, its leader Kim Jong Un called for a “fundamental transformation” in agricultural production, Reuters reported quoting state media.

Kim Jong opened a major political conference dedicated to agriculture after outside assessments suggested the country is facing a serious shortfall of food.

However, reports did not give much insight on what measures North Korea would take, but Kim underlined the changes that need to happen in the next few years. His remark comes amid reports of growing food shortage woes in the country.

North Korea is short about 1 million tons of grain, which is nearly 20 percent of its annual demand, South Korean experts estimate. The Covid-19 pandemic has hampered unofficial grain imports from China and the government has also restricted food sales at markets.

During a high-level meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party that began Sunday, the North Korean leader said hitting grain production targets this year was a top priority and also stressed the importance of stable agricultural production, reported news agency KCNA.

The meeting was the party’s first plenary session held only to discuss agriculture.The ministry said at that time that it was rare for North Korea to announce a special meeting on agriculture strategy, which was slated for late February.

Experts say the current food shortages were probably triggered by poor harvests amid extreme weather conditions. The woes worsened due to lockdowns and a sharp reduction in trade with China due to border closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his address at Monday’s meeting, KCNA said Kim mentioned the “importance of the growth of the agricultural productive forces” in ensuring socialist construction.

North Korea is under strict international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes. Despite limited resources, Kim has been aggressively pushing to expand his nuclear weapons and missile programmes to pressure Washington into accepting the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power and lift international sanctions.