Despite International Organizations' Concerns About Food Shortages... North Korea Claims Wheat Harvest is 3 Times That of 2021

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Su-yun = Despite ongoing international organization concerns about food shortages, North Korea has claimed that this year's wheat harvest is not bad.

The Workers' Party organ Rodong Sinmun reported on the 20th in a front-page article titled "Agricultural Revolution Brought by the New Era's Rural Revolution Program" that "this year's wheat and barley harvest has been completed on time, with the national grain production plan being over-fulfilled and expected to increase more than threefold compared to the 2021 wheat harvest."

The newspaper reported that "wheat cultivation area has continued to increase every year, with this year alone expanding by over 30,000 jeongbo (90 million pyeong, 1 jeongbo = 3,000 pyeong) compared to last year."

North Korea's largest grain-producing region, South Hwanghae Province, increased its wheat cultivation area by over 10,000 jeongbo compared to last year, noting that "wheat land area secured by the first half of this year has recorded the highest performance."

For North Hwanghae Province, another representative grain-producing region, they self-assessed that they "harvested an unprecedented bumper crop."

They also mentioned "achieving a surprising result in the Mirubul area, where farms previously only harvested about 3 tons per jeongbo of corn, by planting wheat as the main crop and producing over 2 tons more per jeongbo on average compared to before." Existing corn farmland is being replaced with wheat.

At the 8th Party Congress 4th Plenary Meeting in late 2021, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared a transition in 'grain production structure', stating he would "change the people's dietary culture to focus on white rice and wheat flour-based foods."

According to the Rural Development Administration's "2024 North Korean Food Crop Production Estimate" released last December, North Korea's wheat and barley production last year was 280,000 tons, a 60,000-ton (27.3%) increase from the previous year.

North Korea's propaganda about a successful wheat harvest is interpreted as an attempt to showcase agricultural sector achievements, with only six months remaining in the 'National Economic Development Five-Year Plan'.

The international community