Food Situation Updates

A UN agency reports that North Korea’s food production this year will be up slightly over last year’s, which is a lot like predicting that the Nasdaq will perform better next year than this.

The production figure of 3.3 million tons of cereals is still far short of the North’s total needs — 800,000 tons short — and lower than the average annual production of the post-famine period. At the same time, the WFP and FAO are both saying that 40% of North Koreans desperately need short-term food aid.