The
North Korean famine occurred in 1995 in
North Korea and lasted until about 2001, when the country had mostly recovered from the
Arduous March, but it was not until 2004 that North Korea finally announced that it would need no further assistance from foreign aid suppliers.
The famine killed an unknown number of people. No official numbers have been released.
Although sometimes the figure is said to be as high as 3 million, or 10% of North Korea's population, this figure is considered problematic because it is based on the experience of North Koreans in the province of North Hamgyong. The province was one of the most devastated due to its urban environment and lack of agricultural production. Additionally, the original study warned not to extrapolate the death toll of the famine to the whole of North Korea. [1]
Famine struck North Korea in the mid-1990s, set off by unprecedented floods and the collapse of the Soviet Union. This autarkic urban, industrial society had achieved food self-sufficiency in prior decades through a massive industrialization of agriculture. The economic system relied on "friendship prices" trade with the Soviet Union
