Kim Young-ho: "North Korea Faces Food Shortage Unlike Its Propaganda"

Confirmed in the comprehensive audit report through statements of the Donghae defector

Kim Young-ho, Minister of Unification, stated on the 27th that "there is a difference between the content North Korea propagates and the reality of the residents' food shortages."

On the same day, during the comprehensive audit of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, when People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Jin-seok asked about the government's assessment of North Korea's repeated claims of a bumper harvest, Kim said that North Korea's food shortage can also be confirmed by the statements of North Korean residents who recently defected to the East Sea by small wooden boats.

Four North Korean residents who defected to the East Sea on the 24th by small wooden boats reportedly cited food shortages as the reason for their defection during the government's joint intelligence investigation.

Regarding this recent boat defection, Minister Kim said, "In 2019, there was a repatriation against the will of defectors, but the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has declared a principle of accepting all defectors," adding, "I believe that this stance is also known and accepted by North Korean residents."

Regarding claims that two defectors repatriated by the Moon Jae-in administration four years ago were executed in North Korea, he said, "It has not been specifically confirmed," but added, "There is a possibility."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.