North Korea reduces soldier food rations for first time in decades, South says
FOX NewsFeb 06, 2023
North Korea Ruling Party Convenes Amid Claims of Food Crisis
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Image copyright: KCNA [via Associated Press]
The Facts
North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday that the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party gathered Sunday to discuss agricultural issues, with Kim Jong Un presiding over the meeting.
The conference is reportedly focusing on agricultural improvements, reviewing rural development projects, and determining "immediate, important" tasks at the "present stage of the national economic development."
This plenary meeting comes just two months after another session that also focused on agricultural issues, fueling speculation from South Korea that the North could be facing pressing food shortages. South Korea's unification ministry has claimed that there have been reports of starvation deaths in the North.
The Spin
Narrative A
Kim's failed economic and foreign affairs policies, as well as his costly nuclear program, are pushing North Korea into a humanitarian crisis not seen on the Peninsula for decades. As it risks another episode of mass hunger, the only way out is for Pyongyang to promote deep reforms like strengthening property rights and opening its economy while also giving up its nuclear and missile programs.
Narrative B
This meeting has nothing to do with Western-led, fabricated claims of a food crisis in North Korea, but, rather, to review the government's policies of 2022 — the country's first year implementing its rural revolution program. Beyond that, the plenary meeting is also being held as a means of discussing new tasks to support the economic development of North Korea and practical ways for implementing them.
