Presentation on the North Korean Famine

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The North Korean famine occurred during the mid 1990s in North Korea and lasted until about 2001 when the country had mostly recovered from the Arduous March but it was not until 2004 that North Korea finally announced that it would need no further assistance from foreign aid suppliers. This autarkic urban, industrial society had achieved food self-sufficiency in prior decades through a massive industrialization of agriculture. The economic system relied on "friendship prices" trade with the Soviet Union.

The famine killed an unknown number of people. No official numbers has been released. Although sometimes the figure is said to be as high as 3 million or 10% of North Korea's population, this figure is considered problematic because it is based on the experience of North Koreans in the province of North Hamgyŏng.

Background: Environmental, Economic, Social and Political factors behind the Famine and Food Crisis

The food shortages in North Korea have many causes including:
- constraints within the country's economic system
- the collapse of strategic economic ties on which the economy depended following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the decline in trade with China following its normalization of relations with South Korea
- natural disasters

Constraints within North Korea's economic system

The food shortages in North Korea are partly a product of natural constraints and structural weaknesses. Limited arable land, relatively poor soil fertility and harsh climatic conditions restrict the capacity of the domestic agricultural sector to provide food security for the population. North Korean agriculture has also been built ...