North Koreans are at growing risk of starvation
Reports of terrible hunger are emerging from the closed-off state
Hunger makes people desperate. On February 10th a starving man in his 70s took a stand outside the communist party office in Hyesan, a city in the northern part of North Korea. As party members arrived for work, he called out, “I’ll die of starvation if things continue like this, please give me food.” Other famished people quickly joined him. When security guards tried to dispel the crowd, a skirmish ensued. In a country where causing a disturbance can get you sent to the gulag, or worse, dissent of this kind appears to be vanishingly rare.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “The hungry people’s republic”
More from Asia
The scary new map of the South China Sea
Fresh fights over reefs and shoals test America’s credibility
Could Japan and South Korea finally become friends?
Younger generations are less concerned with their countries shared history
Taiwan is trying to learn from the wars in Gaza and Ukraine
Could it repel a potential Chinese invasion?
Myanmar’s military junta is battered by Chinese-backed forces
The Brotherhood Alliance continues its string of shock victories
Why Indonesia’s horror films are booming
Directors such as Joko Anwar are taking old ghost stories to new heights
Welcome to India, where the streets have four names
Constantly renaming cities, roads and stations is pointless and counterproductive