North Korea food shortage worst in years despite farms

[AsahinaKimi]

In this April 17, 2011 photo, people work in a field outside of Kaesong, North Korea. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

SUNAN, North Korea (AP) -- It's an unlikely sight: hundreds of ostriches, a bird native to sunny Africa, squatting and squabbling in the morning chill on a sprawling farm in North Korea. Even stranger: In winter, some wear quilted vests.

Built on the heels of a 1990s famine, the ostrich farm was a bold, expensive investment that the state hoped would help feed its people and provide goods to export. Years later, ostrich meat is the specialty at some of Pyongyang's finest restaurants, but appears out of the reach of millions of hungry North Koreans.


This April 17, 2011 photo shows a farm compound near the southern city of Kaesong, North Korea.(AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

The showcase farm is an idiosyncratic approach to one of the biggest issues confronting North Korea: food.

North Korea's food shortage has reached a crisis point this year, aid workers say, largely because of shocks to the agricultural sector, including torrential rains and the coldest winter in 60 years. Six million North Koreans are living "on a knife edge" and will go hungry without immediate food aid, the World Food Program said, calling in April for $224 million in emergency aid.

more..
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20110729p2g00m0fe105000c.html

[msanthrope]

1. I popped popcorn for this thread, and am awaiting pictures of

smiling North Koreans....:popcorn:

[joshcryer]

2. Heh.

[AsahinaKimi]

3. Oooh! can I have some?

:popcorn:
Btw..I can show you some smiling South Koreans!

*SNSD~Girls Generation*


*big bang!*

[joshcryer]

5. Oh wow, SNSD. You'd have a difficult time finding a frowning pic with them! Ha! :)

Here's one, maybe:



:P

[AsahinaKimi]

6. Those are great!

I will share those with my friends who totally love them!

Here is a treat!
Echo~SNSD!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBswd0XMcB4

[joshcryer]

4. Breaks my heart every time I hear about totalitarians refusing to give up some power...

...to benefit the people under them. Just breaks my heart.

(Korea could open its borders in a week and allow inspectors in and every single Korean would start to be fed, this could happen in a weeks period of time.)