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this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2026
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The DPRK keeps records, they do not publicize them. Simple as that. We do know that starvation rates are going down, and are now generally better than countries at peer levels of wealth.
We know that starvation rates are going down because we know the DPRK is doing much better economically, rural areas are more developed, weather disaster is no longer occurring, and what data is openly available all affirms this. This is why you cannot find data going against these claims, and instead are relying on aged red scare fearmongering. It's chauvanism.
Let's return to the key point here: your point is that Koreans are starving to death en mass in the DPRK, as they were during the Arduous March, and that Koreans in the DPRK cannot leave. Neither is true. The DPRK has been developing dramatically in recent decades, especially in the 2020s, including the 20x10 initiative. The DPRK has adapted to be more self-sufficient after the dissolution of the USSR, and foreign banks like in the ROK back up these claims based on estimation of economic growth. We know people from the DPRK live in and visit China and Russia as well.
Your points have no merit.
I've presented hard data, go back through my comments. You seem to be ignoring everything inconvenient to your chauvanist claims. The DPRK allows its citizens to go to countries that allow travelers from the DPRK, this isn't a situation the DPRK set itself up for but it's the one they have to deal with. I do vet my sources, you have exactly none.
The university of Washington did not hallucinate the data, they have imperfect data and admitted it to be so. The fact that the data is imperfect does not mean that the opposite of what has been observed by outside parties has been happening, ie continued famine and stagnating development, vs the reality of increased food security and industrialization across the board. It also does not mean the findings themselves are wrong. Based on our best estimations based on available data, there is nothing pointing to what you are claiming.
Meanwhile, you're sharing no data. You just rely on vibes, and when your vibes run counter to outside estimation based on what we do know, you say it's "invalid." Where's your data supporting your initial claims?