Kim Jong-un Admits Serious North Korean Food Shortage... Likely to Continue Provocations to Suppress Discontent

Kim Jong-un Directly Mentions Local Distribution Collapse
Appears to Soothe Public Sentiment Amid Growing Internal Discontent
Recent Military Provocations Also Seen as Effort to Strengthen Internal Unity

At the expanded 19th plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee Political Bureau held on the 23rd-24th under the chairmanship of Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, Jo Yong-won, Party Secretary, and Kim Tok-hun, Premier of the Cabinet, are kneeling before Chairman Kim and listening to his instructions. [Chosun Central TV screen] [Photo by Yonhap News]

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, publicly acknowledged the collapse of the local rationing system. This is interpreted as meaning that North Korea's local economy and food shortages have become critically severe. The recent significant escalation in provocations against South Korea, including the launch of a new strategic cruise missile, appears to be aimed at diverting residents' dissatisfaction outward to strengthen internal unity.

The North Korean official newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on the 26th in an article titled "A New Era of Local Transformation Under the Great Party's Guidance," mentioning that Chairman Kim proposed the "Local Development 20×10" policy to vigorously promote local industrial development, stating, "Workers, party members, and laborers throughout the country are forging a fiery determination to practically uphold the Party's local development policy."

This shows that North Korea has officially begun efforts to "appease local public sentiment." At the expanded meeting of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party Central Committee held on the 23rd and 24th, Kim acknowledged that "the Party and government cannot overlook the serious political problem of failing to adequately provide basic foodstuffs and essential daily necessities to local people." In reality, economic inequality between major cities like Pyongyang, where the privileged class resides, and the provinces is very severe.

North Korea experiences chronic food shortages every year, and it is reported that 70-80% of provincial residents do not receive proper rations. As this food crisis appears likely to lead to dissatisfaction and distrust toward the North Korean regime, analysts note that Kim personally addressed the rationing issue. The "Local Development 20×10" policy, which North Korea has been emphasizing daily, involves building modern local industrial factories in 20 counties annually to raise the basic material and cultural living standards of the entire population within 10 years.

Many analyses also suggest that Kim's marked escalation of provocations against the South this year is influenced by the food shortage. After declaring the termination of military agreements, North Korea resumed artillery firing drills near the northwestern islands and conducted the first test launch of the new strategic cruise missile "Bulhwachal-3-31" on the 24th.

Professor Kim Yong-hyun of Dongguk University's Department of North Korean Studies said, "North Korea's economy has become very difficult due to sanctions and COVID-19, and the situation has yet to improve," adding, "Chairman Kim continues to issue verbal threats, but it seems more appropriate to view them as intimidation rather than actual war intentions." A Ministry of Unification official also explained, "North Korea's actions reflect insecurity about the regime," and "amid worsening economic difficulties domestically, the purpose is to divert internal dissatisfaction outward and incite hostility."

North Korea's recent efforts to form a new Cold War structure around the Korean Peninsula in solidarity with Russia and China are in the same context. According to the Korean Central News Agency on the same day, a Chinese delegation led by Sun Weidong, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited Pyongyang the day before. They are expected to meet with top-level officials including Kim Jong-un to discuss strategic cooperation measures. Analysts suggest that economic cooperation plans and issues related to the policy toward South Korea may also be on the agenda.

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