North Korea launches reconnaissance satellite despite extreme food shortages
Grain prices soar in North Korea due to deteriorating food situation in May
Organized crime in North Korea… Violent crime and suicide on the rise
North Korea, which has invested astronomical sums in nuclear and missile development, recently announced that it would continue to launch military reconnaissance satellites.
In North Korea, as the severe food shortage continues for a long time, deaths from starvation as well as violent crimes and suicides are increasing rapidly.
Reporter Jo Soo-hyun reports.
[기자]
How much money did North Korea spend to develop and launch a military reconnaissance satellite?
First of all, looking at the development of Nuri Lake by the Korean government, the official budget reaches 1.9 trillion won.
In addition, 1.2 trillion won was invested in the reconnaissance satellite project that is being developed with the aim of launching in November.
Although there are major differences between the two Koreas in all aspects, including economic levels and labor costs, it seems clear that North Korea has spent a significant amount of money on developing reconnaissance satellites, which is a significant burden on the stability of the regime.
However, if you look at the internal reality of North Korea, the severe food shortage is long and the suffering of the people is getting worse.
In particular, as grain prices soar due to the deterioration of the food situation during the spring famine in May, starvation deaths are on the rise.
[유상범 / 국회 정보위원회 여당 간사 (지난달 31일) : 작년 1분기 대비 옥수수가 약 60%, 쌀이 30% 가까이 올라 김정은 집권 이래 최고치를 기록한 것으로 보고 있습니다. 아사자 발생도 예년의 3배에 달하는 것으로 지금 추정하고 있습니다.]
As a result, large-scale organized crime, such as the throwing of home-made bombs aimed at stealing supplies, followed one after another, and the number of violent crimes and suicides was also found to be increasing rapidly.
[유상범 / 국회 정보위원회 여당 간사 : 강력범죄는 작년 동기 대비 100여 건에서 300여 건으로 3배 급증했고 최근 자살자가 지난해에 비해 약 40% 정도 증가했는데…]
Kim Jong-un has given an urgent order to prepare preventive measures, but the situation is unlikely to change significantly as long as money is poured into nuclear and missile development to ease people’s livelihoods and the resulting anxiety .
This is YTN Cho Soo-hyun.
Video editing: Jiyeon Kim
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