North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is said to have ordered his people to eat less food until the country’s border with China reopens in 2025.
According to the RFA, North Koreans are already suffering from food shortages, but leaders have instructed them to tighten their belts for at least another three years.
However, individuals have already expressed concern that scarcity would make it impossible to get through the winter, let alone numerous years.
In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, North Korea closed its border with China in January 2020.
However, the decision has had a significant impact on the country’s economy, with prices of ordinary commodities soaring rapidly as demand outstripped supply.
In response to the new official guidelines, a Sinuiju resident who preferred to remain anonymous stated that residents had been advised that the prospects of reopening the border with China before 2025 were limited.
They added: ‘The food situation right now is already clearly an emergency, and the people are struggling with shortages. When the authorities tell them that they need to conserve and consume less food until 2025… they can do nothing but feel great despair.’
Despite the current hardships the North Korean people are facing, their leader Kim Jong Un has been continuing to push the idea of self-reliance this year.
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