North Korea cuts down on soldiers' food ration as country faces potential food crisis

Seoul: As the Hermit Kingdom approaches a potential food crisis, North Korea has decreased food rations to its soldiers for the first time in more than 20 years, officials revealed this week.North Korea's food situation "looks to have deteriorated," according to South Korea's unification ministry, which is in charge of relations with its northern neighbours.The ministry took notice of a report from the North Korean state-run KCNA on February 6 regarding preparations for a "urgent" ruling party meeting on agriculture. According to the ministry of the South, such unique gatherings are uncommon.In the meantime, a South Korean newspaper, DongA Ilbo, claimed on Wednesday that the North has for the first time since 2000 cut the daily food supplies provided to its military.While the report could not be 100% confirmed, South Korea’s unification ministry said it and other agencies were monitoring the situation.The report comes after the U.S.-based monitoring group 38 North said last north that North Korea’s food availability has "likely fallen below the bare minimum with regard to human needs."North Korea is no stranger to serious food shortages, often caused by natural disasters such as floods damaging harvests. The country suffered one of its worst famines between 1994 and 1998 when hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives.The North is under crushing international sanctions for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. In recent years what little trade it had was virtually cut off by self-imposed lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19.Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.