Still, crop output is unlikely to fall to the unprecedentedly low levels in 2000 to 2001, according to Cristina Coslet, country monitor at the UN Food and Agricultural Organization.
Coupled with the latest round of UN sanctions, which aim to pressure North Korean leader Kim Jong Un into giving up his nuclear weapons, unfavorable weather conditions are likely to severely hurt Pyongyang’s economy.
“They are facing a very bad harvest. And with the latest sanctions, [Kim] won’t be able to pay in credit for his oil imports anymore,” said Mark Matthews, head of research for Asia at Switzerland-based private bank Julius Baer.
Kim would do well to pause his weapons testing in exchange for aid from China or the United States, Matthews added.
North Korea is currently harvesting its main-season crops, scheduled to be completed by mid-October. The UN agency will await until then to determine its final production estimates for the country, which will not be ready before end October, Coslet said.
The regime still cannot feed its own people without external food aid, whorely on black markets to buy rice, produce, beer and even school supplies.
Chinese food exports to North Korea have soared over the past year, despite increasing sanctions imposed by the UN, hinting at Pyongyang’s increasing reliance on Beijing.
