North's Kim alludes to food shortages in call for regional development

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends an expanded meeting of the politburo of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers Party Korea in Pyongyang this week. [NEWS1]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for economic development outside of Pyongyang in his address to the politburo, alluding to the nationwide food shortage, the country's state media reported on Thursday.

“Today, failure to satisfactorily provide the people in local areas with basic living necessities including condiments, foodstuff and consumption goods has arisen as a serious political issue that our Party and government can never sidestep,” Kim said in an expanded meeting of the politburo of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers Party Korea, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

In the meeting, held from Tuesday to Wednesday, Kim spoke harshly of officials’ lukewarm attitude to the issue and ordered that the North’s so-called “regional development 20x10 policy” be carried out thoroughly as the country continues to face food shortages.

The policy entails building regional industrial factories in 20 cities and counties every year for the next decade.

“Being passive is not constitutionally suitable,” he said, adding, “Can we do this? Yes, we can and will do it. We must do it.”

North Korea has largely refused aid from international organizations since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Statistics Korea's report released last month, North Korea's food crop production, including rice and barley, decreased by 4 percent to 4.51 million tons in 2022.

Food shipments from neighboring China have also fallen, with statistics from China’s customs office recording 130,383 tons of rice in 2022, compared to 500,000 tons of rice and 550,000 tons of fertilizer delivered by Beijing in 2021.

Adding that the country was still experiencing widespread food shortage, the South Korean government said that the North's dietary energy supply decreased by 2.4 percent last year to 1,982 calories per person per day, only 62.8 percent of South Korea's 3,156 calories.

“At present, it is a very urgent immediate task for leveling up the material and cultural living standards of the regional people to adopt a revolutionary strategy and take all measures to make it possible to develop regional industry in a comprehensive and balanced way,” Kim said.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]