AP
The starvation deaths of three ethnic Chinese residents of North Korea, who were cut off from their economic lifeline to China by a border closure to fight the coronavirus pandemic, has shocked North Koreans by showing that the economy is failing even privileged groups, sources in the country told RFA.
Called
Hwagyo in Korean, ethnic Chinese are usually among the wealthiest residents in North Korean port and border cities, because they are allowed to travel to China frequently, enabling them to run profitable import-export businesses.
Though they historically have been able to weather times of food insecurity in North Korea by traveling to China, Beijing’s and Pyongyang’s decision in January 2020 to close the border and suspend all trade due to the coronavirus has left many of them destitute.
KCNA/via Reuters
North Korea has ordered its farmers to begin planting crops, but many farms in the country have yet to be plowed due to a severe lack of adequate farming machinery, sources told RFA.
During January’s Eighth Party Congress, the central government said that, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, North Korea had been too reliant on China for covering its food shortages, and that too much of its economy was dependent on cross-border trade.
When Beijing and Pyongyang closed their border and suspended all trade in January 2020, the North Korean economy came to a near halt. International organizations warned that the country of 23 million people could suffer a severe food crisis.