North Korea's COVID-19 border closure prompted suicide spike, widespread starvation: 'it's heartless'
North Korea continues to struggle as its borders remain closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with many people losing hope, and leader Kim Jong Un forced to allegedly ban suicides.
"The stories of the plight of the North Korean people are heartbreaking. The Kim regime does not care about the North Korean people," Anthony Ruggerio, Senior Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former National Security Council Director for North Korea, told Fox News Digital.
"The Kim family spends the billions it makes from illicit activities on missiles, nuclear weapons and luxury goods to sustain their lifestyle," he added. "The best way to help the North Korean people is to sanction the regime and Chinese companies, individuals and banks who allow this tragedy to continue."
In a recent BBC report in cooperation with NK Daily, the U.K. outlet spoke with three ordinary North Koreans about the state of the country following the devastating toll COVID19 had on the nation.
A medicine seller using the name Myong Suk told the British outlet that businesses that were once healthy have dwindled to virtual non-existence. She claimed that the country’s food situation "has never been this bad."
Increasing poverty has caused suicides to spike 40% over the past year alone, Radio Free Asia reported, citing government officials but unable to confirm the tally.
"There are a lot of internal unrest factors in North Korea due to the hardships of people," the South Korean National Intelligence Service told the outlet.
In response, Kim officially declared suicide an "act of treason against socialism" and ordered his government to take preventative measures – an order delivered in emergency meetings in each province at the provincial, city and county levels. An official from the northeastern province of North Hamgyong also claimed that violent crimes have increased.
NORTH KOREA STATE MEDIA MOCKS US FOR BLINKEN'S ‘DISGRACEFUL BEGGING TRIP’ TO MEET WITH XI
"Our meeting was held at the provincial party committee’s building located in Pohang district, in the city of Chongjin," he said. "The large number of suicide cases in the province was revealed, and some officials . . . could not hide their anxious expressions," the North Korean official told the BBC.
Party officials told local politicians that suicide has a greater social impact than starvation, but the party offered no solution as to how the local governments could effectively prevent further attempts.
"Most of the suicides were caused by severe poverty and starvation, so no one can come up with a countermeasure right now," the anonymous official said. He described hearing about a boy whose parents died of starvation and whose grandparents subsequently consumed rat poison when their hunger became too much for them.