Size of N. Korea's rice paddies down 0.8% in 2022
2024-05-29 01:47:16
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| This May 26, 2022 file photo shows the rice paddies of Gaepung County, North Korea. The Korea Times file |
The size of North Korea's rice paddies decreased 0.8 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, reflecting the reclusive regime's challenging food shortages.
The North's rice paddies totaled 539,569 hectares, slightly larger than the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, in 2022, compared with 544,006 hectares posted in 2021, according to Statistics Korea.
The estimate is based on satellite images, taken over the May-September period of 2022.
The figure is around 74 percent of the 727,158 hectares of rice paddies in South Korea.
South Hwanghae Province accounted for 26 percent of North Korea's total, trailed by the North and South Pyongan provinces with 19.1 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively.
The data came after South Korea's unification ministry said earlier this month that North Korea's food shortages appear to be worsening.
The North is known for chronic food shortages that have been aggravated in recent years by global sanctions for its nuclear and missile programs, unfavorable weather and border lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)
（作者：新闻中心）
