Pyongyang: North Korea's state media has reported a "grave" situation in food supply that might have occurred in Kaesong in early 2023, suggesting a rare acknowledgment of food shortages in the isolated nation.

According to Yonhap News Agency, unconfirmed media reports indicated that starvation-related deaths were witnessed in North Korea, including in Kaesong, due to border lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The North's quarterly magazine, Korean Architecture, reported that farm controls implemented in 2022 "created a grave situation that could cut off food supply to people in Kaesong" by January 2023.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered officials to distribute "strategic reserve crops" to Kaesong, and residents expressed gratitude for these efforts. The situation draws parallels to the massive famine and related deaths during the Arduous March in the 1990s.

In October 2022, North Korea adopted a new policy to tighten state control over the distribution of rice and other grains. However, this move was believed to have disrupted food supplies, as farmers and merchants hesitated to sell rice to state-designated facilities due to fears of incurring losses.