North Korea’s official newspaper has urged economic self-reliance amid reports of food shortages, arguing that relying on external aid to cope with the food situation would be like taking “poisoned candy”.
The commentary, published in the Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday, comes days after South Korea announced that the food crisis in North Korea “seems to have deteriorated”. The United States-based think tank, 38 North, warned last month that North Korea – which is reeling from floods and typhoons as well as global sanctions over its nuclear programme – was “on the brink of famine”.
