[EpochTimesAugust292021](Epoch Times reporter Wu Huanxin reported) Kim Jong-un publicly stated in June 2021 that North Korea was “increasingly tense in food conditions.” A month later, North Korea had exported nearly 4% worth of food to China. Ten thousand dollar beer. Recently, North Korea’s Central Television also aired cartoons to remind people to beware of obesity. All this surprised the outside world.
China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) trade statistics show that North Korea exported a total of 163,852 liters of beer worth 39,604 US dollars to China in July. This is the first time North Korea has exported alcohol to China this year.
If you search for “North Korean beer” on China’s Taobao website, you can see that only North Korea’s Datongjiang beer appears, which is a well-known North Korean beer brand. The Datongjiang Beer No. 1 and No. 2 is sold in 500ml bottles and 330ml cans. The production date is displayed from May to June this year. Datongjiang Beer No. 1 ingredient shows that the main raw material is 100% malt, and Datongjiang Beer No. 2 ingredient contains 30% rice in addition to malt. If only 500ml bottled Datongjiang beer is calculated, North Korea exported more than 300,000 bottles of this beer in July.
According to South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo, in early August, the South Korean intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Agency, disclosed at a congressional meeting that in the face of the United States’ long-term sanctions and economic difficulties, North Korea currently requires the United States to ease sanctions. In addition to the requirement to export minerals and allow the import of refined oil, it also requires the import of daily necessities, including high-end wine and suits.
Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the National Power Party of Korea, said: “Kim Jong-un does not consume by himself, but a ration for the upper class in Pyongyang. It is a necessities of the upper class.”
The Chosun Ilbo analyzed that foreign wine and suits are what Kim Jong-un needs in order to appease the people of the privileged class in North Korea.
In addition, North Korean state media recently aired cartoons to remind people to beware of obesity. This is about two months after the media photographed Kim Jong-un after losing weight, which attracted the attention of foreign media.
According to the American professional North Korean media NK News, although North Korea is facing food difficulties, the obesity problem among North Korean elites is getting worse.
On August 16, the 23rd episode of the cartoon “Conscientiously Observe Traffic Order-On the Bridge” broadcast by North Korea’s Central Television showed a thin girl satirizing a fat girl. In one shot, a fat girl and a thin girl walking on the road one day in winter. The fat girl suggested to take the bus home. The thin girl said, “I have to walk for a while.” Then, she said to the fat girl, “You walked a bridge to get home. What kind of bus do you take? That’s why you became so fat.” .”
Another scene is at home. The fat girl came to the thin girl’s house as a guest. The thin girl was waving a gymnastic stick to practice gymnastics, but the fat girl was always sitting on the sofa full of toys eating snacks and watching, and soon fell asleep after eating.
The Chosun Ilbo also reported that in early August, North Korea’s Central Television broadcasted images of children from upper-class families clamoring against rice on a program called “Healthy Common Sense”, reminding people that “not eating breakfast may cause problems. “A variety of diseases”, “not only may suffer from colds, digestive tract diseases, stomach diseases and other diseases, but may also lead to mental retardation.”
Food shortage has always been a major “severe disease” in North Korea. A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in June this year indicated that North Korea is expected to be short of 860,000 tons of food this year. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea has blocked its borders for more than a year. Since this summer, North Korea has also experienced high temperatures, droughts and floods, which have exacerbated the food crisis. @
Editor in charge: Shao Yi
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