Top Stories 23/06/05 Poverty, hunger drive suicides in North Korea

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Poverty, hunger drive suicides in North Korea

Kim Jong Un issued an order for preventive measures and termed suicide as 'an act of treason against socialism'

More than 40 percent of North Korea’s 25 million people are considered food insecure, according to UN estimates. (AFP file photo)

By UCA News reporter

Published: June 07, 2023 11:08 AM GMT

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered local authorities to take suicide prevention measures after various media reports revealed families committed suicide due to hunger and poverty.

Kim officially defined suicide as an “act of treason against socialism” and issued a confidential suicide prevention order during emergency meetings of the party leaders all over the country, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on June 5.

An unnamed official from North Hamgyong told RFA that the details of suicide cases shared during the meeting shocked the gathered officials.

“Our meeting was held at the provincial party committee’s building located in Pohang district, in the city of Chongjin,” the unnamed official said.

He further added that “the large number of suicide cases in the province was revealed and some officials… could not hide their anxious expressions.”

According to a South Korean National Intelligence Service report published in May, North Korea saw a 40 percent increase in suicide rates compared to last year, RFA reported.

“There are a lot of internal unrest factors in North Korea due to the hardships of people,” the agency also reported that violent crimes are also on the rise as people struggle to make ends meet.

During a meeting in North Hamgyong, the officials revealed that there were 35 suicide cases this year in Chongjin and nearby Kyongsong county alone with many of the cases involving families ending their lives together.

“[The attendees] were shocked by the disclosure of suicide notes that criticized the country and the social system,” the unnamed official said. 

A second unnamed official stated that in a meeting at Ryanggang province, officials were told that suicide had a greater social impact than starvation and officials were unable to find a solution to the issue.

“Despite the suicide prevention policy ratified by the General Secretary, the officials were not able to come up with an appropriate solution,” the unnamed official said.

He further added that “most of the suicides were caused by severe poverty and starvation, so no one can come up with a countermeasure right now.”

The official also pointed out that Kim’s order had emphasized that local government officials must take responsibility for preventing suicides in their respective jurisdictions.

“It was emphasized that the responsible officials will be held jointly accountable, because ‘suicide is a clear social challenge and treason against the country,'" an unnamed official said.

In the meeting, the officials were given shocking details of the family suicides that had happened in various regions of the country.

“In the city of Hyesan, a 10-year-old boy was living with his grandmother after his parents died of starvation, but they took their own lives by eating rat poison,” the unnamed official said adding that the incident “brought great sadness to all who saw it.”

According to the official, a couple in their 60s hung themselves from a tree in the mountains, and a family of four, after eating their final family meal together, ingested potassium cyanide, a highly toxic chemical often used in gold mining.

The official pointed out that the trend of family suicide was the “final act of defiance against a hopeless system.”

North Korea is facing a widespread food shortage as reports of reduced food production emerged.

In May, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported that North Korea would fall short of around 800,000 tons of rice this year — a situation that has been triggered by droughts in the country.

In a separate report to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea, Elizabeth Salmón, pointed out that around 42 percent of the country’s population is malnourished due to food shortages.