North Korea is suffering massive drought and crop failure, threatening starvation for tens of thousands of its citizens. If that sounds familiar, that is because this new development in the hermit country is a repeating event. Consequently, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) are reporting a similar warning — "the worst drought in 100 years" is likely to drop key farm production by 50%.
This is no accident, nor is it a case of bad luck. The same North Korean news agency reports that the country's nuclear weapons programme is forging full steam ahead. The production and testing of a wide range of short- and long-range missiles continues. The formidable armed forces - more than a million soldiers in a country with a population of 25 million - are again expected to remain well fed and free of the hunger that once again is spreading.
With policies such as these, the rest of the world faces a dual problem. On the one hand, the humanitarian emergency is clear. Once again, Koreans above the demilitarised zone are dying of starvation or are on the edge of it. Malnutrition, a constant condition in North Korea, is spreading rapidly. On June 10, FAO representatives visited North Hwanghae and South Hwanghae provinces, the country's breadbasket. They found harvests likely to be cut in half by the drought.
On the other hand is the stark reality that this undeniable disaster is man-made. From the regime of Kim Jong-un, one hears these days the same old excuses that came from his father and his grandfather. Every time natural disaster strikes and crops fail, it is because of outside forces.
Too much rain or, in the current situation too little, must be blamed on weather patterns. This time, it is El Nino that has caused drought.
As the UN begins once again to organise a rescue of the destitute North Korean people, it is time to take stock of this disaster. For many decades, it seems that dreadful things have happened to North Korea. In particular, there are droughts and floods that ruin crops and starve millions. Yet it must be recognised that such serial calamities happen only in one country.
Weather knows no borders. Yet while North Korea's frequent crop and food shortages occur again and again, its neighbours cope. South Korea and China share its borders, yet have long been free of malnutrition and starvation. The United Nations has not had to appeal to international compassion to feed other Koreans, Chinese, Japanese or the like. So while bad weather certainly creates negative conditions, it is clear that such conditions can be alleviated and overcome completely with competent leadership and planning.
There is a certain irony in the fact that a properly compassionate and concerned world repeatedly rescues a nation whose leaders shout out their desire to stay outside all international norms. Kim Jong-un's regime is already eager to accept millions or perhaps billions of dollars in aid to feed his people. But he remains even more bellicose, self-isolated and militaristic than the family dynasty's predecessors.