Military Second?
The Daily NK continues to be our single best source of information from inside the North, despite the obvious limitations in confirmation, not to mention translation. One pseudonymous interviewee, probably a trader, reports that food is still available in most of the cities from Pyongyang to Sinuiju, but for an exorbitant price (the most at-risk areas are along North Korea’s other coast). It’s thinly sourced but interesting nonetheless. So far, the interviewee says that food continues to be available for most of Pyongyang’s privileged classes despite the loss of rations.
More potentially significant are reports that the regime has released some of its lower-quality rice from military storehouses to other members of the elite:
A source from Yangkang Province reported on the 28th that “The authorities distributed Chinese corn and No.2 rice to the affiliates of the Party in Yankang Province, the provincial Security Agency, the Safety Agency and the workers of the No. 95 Munitions Factory. The cadres’ families are selling the distributed rice in the jangmadang (markets) and buying rice of good quality, because the No. 2 rice contains lots of sand and many grains of unpolished rice. [….]
He explained the reason, “This is because smugglers in border regions are bringing rice from China, to profit from the rising prices. The source also said that “A manager of the No.2 rice for the Food Policy Department in the city said that, since 1998, they have been saving rice for military provisions, so now the total amount of No. 2 rice in the country is more than one year’s provisions for the whole military. Therefore, if the authorities released the No. 2 rice, even for a few months, they could prevent starvation. [Daily NK]
A State Department official is traveling to North Korea to discuss the provision of U.S. food aid. Although State is saying, for now, that verification and monitoring are important components of any aid program, the fact that our State Department is involved suggests that only a pretense of accountability will survive.
An important prerequisite, however, is North Korea’s willingness to ask for or even accept aid. The regime still has not asked South Korea for food aid. My guess is that if few enough strings are attached, they’ll accept aid, but they’re only interested in feeding their elites.