Six years have passed and North Korea is still having problems feeding its people. Ever sine natural disasters in 1995 set back food production, North Korea has had enormous difficulties producing enough food. The main problem is not the temporary changes caused by severe climate but rather the closed nature of the North Korean economy which depended largely on the former Soviet Union to sustain itself. Without the aid it received from the USSR, North Korea’s combination of state control and collectivized agriculture all but guarantee food shortages.
The only thing that has kept famine in North Korea from being even more severe has been massive amounts of aid from other countries and aid agencies. This year the World Food Programme and other agencies will spend more than $200 million on assistance to North Korea.
Source:
Chronic food supply problems persist in DPR Korea suggesting continued dependence on large scale food assistance. United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, June 7, 2000.