The Food Security Crisis under Kim Jong-un Era: An Analysis of Structural Internal and External Factors

This study systematically analyzed the structural mechanisms underlying the persistent food security crisis in North Korea during Kim Jong-un's rule (2012–2024), despite the regime's sustained attention and policy efforts in the agricultural sector. The analysis categorized these mechanisms into internal and external factors and found that they do not act independently but rather form a complex, mutually reinforcing mechanism that completes a self-reinforcing vicious cycle. Insufficient agricultural investment due to fiscal constraints has deepened external dependency, which in turn imposes additional fiscal pressures stemming from international market price fluctuations and supply instability. This external vulnerability prioritizes resource allocation for emergency imports or ad hoc responses, thereby solidifying a structural dilemma that constrains long-term agricultural infrastructure investment and productivity improvement opportunities. In conclusion, a dynamic system has formed where changes in each factor have a cascading effect on all other factors and feed back to the original factor. Despite the Kim Jong-un regime's various efforts to develop agricultural policies, North Korea's food security crisis persists, indicating that this is a complex challenge requiring fundamental changes to the structural mechanisms themselves, beyond individual policy intentions or institutional reforms.