The drought represented an “unprecedented natural disaster”, reported the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers’ party.
We should muster all our power and capacity to fight high temperatures and droughts.” North Korea’s state-run media published several articles this weeksuggesting precautions in a country where air conditioning is almost non-existent.
Government television said the heat was taking a toll on the economy, which is already subject to a tight international sanctions regime imposed over the country’s nuclear programme.
“This weather will certainly influence food production and right now is a critical time especially for rice crops,” said Hiroyuki Konuma, a former Asia representative at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
“All the farmers have to listen to government directives and the decisions made now will be very important.
If this weather and drought continues for another week or two we should be very worried about North Korea’s food production.” The government has been working in recent years to boost production, but the system remains highly susceptible to weather extremes, he said.
Food, medicine and other humanitarian aid are exempt, and experts suggested state media attention on the problem may be a cry for help.
“There is no tomorrow when it comes to fighting against high temperatures and droughts,” the Rodong Sinmun comment said, according to a translation by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
An unnamed source quoted by Daily NK, a Seoul-based news service, said: “North Koreans are expressing a great deal of concern because people are suffering from life-threatening heat and crops that are drying out.” People have collapsed in the street due to the heat, the report said, and farmers are struggling to follow government orders to water fields by hand because of water shortages and extreme working conditions.
In South Korea, far wealthier than its northern neighbour, there have been at least 29 deaths caused by the heat and more than 3 million head of livestock have been killed.