According to the Beeb, the food situation in North Korea is getting worse. And, of course, we are given a very clear explanation of why:
Market reforms introduced in North Korea in recent years mean most people only get about half the food they need through the state and have to buy the rest themselves.
Hat Tip to Jonathan Dingel.
Market reforms? Do these reforms include the government sanctioning the production of counterfeit US $20s? Or is it the free trade of Uranium, which the DPRK has lots of. Or perhaps it’s in the free trade of human beings between state officials for work in government slave labor camps. Those sound just like market reforms to me!
It’s a badly written and badly reasoned article. I took a look at the UN WFP website. There are several relevant press releases; it looks likes BBC’s scoop is from Jan 27 2005, and taken wildly out of context. Here’s an excerpt from the release:
“Two-thirds of the 23.7 million population remain dependent on the government-run Public Distribution System (PDS). The PDS provides its mostly urbanised recipients with subsidised rations, which have recently been cut to 250 gms of staples per day. This is enough to meet only half their calorie needs.
The plight of the most vulnerable is aggravated by an economic adjustment process that has led to steep increases in market prices of basic foods, and sharply lower incomes for millions of factory workers rendered redundant or now employed part-time.”
The BBC story ought to read — “Centrally planned economy slashes food rations, reduces wages, and lets prices float.” BBC’s “market reforms” are the DPRK’s slight relaxing of restrictions on private sales of food.
Also, BBC’s Korea correspondent says “that Seoul believes Pyongyang is raising nuclear tensions to extract a better aid offer.” Maybe. But why not quote WFP’s 26 March 2005 press release that argues that DPRK has been working to *reduce* foreign aid:
“Banbury [WPI Asia director] said the tightening last year of DPRK government restrictions on WFP’s ability to monitor food aid and assess needs had undermined international support for the agency’s operation.”
WFP’s Korea page is http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp?country=408
and contains a link to the press releases.
Oops — Banbury is Asia director for WFP, not WPI.
That’s a hilarious pic of Kim Jong Il. lol. Where’d you get it?
The photo is from the movie “Team America: World Police.” (Now available on DVD: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007Y08IS/qid=1116560091/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-1932624-5661700?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846 ).
I thought it was better than Casablanca, Potemkin, and Unforgiven (the puppet versions, at least).
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/02/07/Arts/teamamerica050207.html
Now we know that Kim has seen it.
Heh heh heh.
From PeteT’s article:
…”It harms the image of our country,” a daily newspaper, Lidove Noviny, quoted an official at the embassy saying…
Funny, I thought it was your bat-shit-crazy, megalomaniacal leader who “disappears” dissenters and starves the entire population that did that.