Defector: North Korea is in a 'desperate situation'

(Baonghean.vn) – On October 16, a former high-ranking North Korean official who defected said that the country is too weak, so its economy cannot survive for long under sanctions imposed by the United Nations.

Former North Korean official Ri Jong Ho (left). Photo: AP

“I don’t know if North Korea can survive another year under UN sanctions,” Ri Jong Ho, a former senior North Korean economic official, said at the Asia Society forum in New York. “Many people will die. There won’t be enough food to eat, and the sanctions have completely stopped trade.”

This forced the North Korean government to send tens of thousands of workers abroad. Households in North Korea have no electricity, while the capital's electricity grid can only provide light for 3-4 hours a day.

Mr Ri described his native North Korea as one of the “desperate situations”. China, North Korea’s biggest trading partner, is “very disappointed” with Pyongyang for not reforming its economy and instead “just begging” for food from its giant neighbour.

On the other hand, Mr. Ri said that North Korean leaders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin but the results were not as expected.

Members of the North Korean People's Security Council participate in an anti-US protest in September 2017. Photo: KCNA

Mr. Ri believes that North Korea is very afraid of South Korea. And according to foreign diplomats, to turn the North Korean crisis in a positive direction, it is necessary to understand what is going on in the head of leader Kim Jong-un and “change what he is thinking”./.

Lan Ha

(According to CNBC)