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 Korea, NorthFamine Overshadows Nuclear AmbitionsKim Il Sung's death on July 8, 1994, introduced
a period of uncertainty, as his son, Kim Jong Il, assumed the mantle of leadership.
The country's suspected possession of atomic
weapons was a much discussed topic, and in June 1995, the North received a South Korean nuclear
reactor.
The nuclear standoffs that characterized the
mid-1990s were overshadowed by a famine which struck the nation's 24 million
inhabitants in 1998 and 1999. Two years of floods had been followed by
severe droughts in 1997 and 1998, causing devastating crop failures.
Because of a lack of fuel and machinery parts, and weather conditions that
encouraged parasites, only 10% of North Korea's rice fields could be
worked. The crippling food crisis necessitated foreign aid. In the fall
of 1999, the severe famine, which claimed an estimated 2 million to 3
million lives, had begun to wane. Malnutrition and hunger, however,
continued to plague North Korea into 2000. Thousands have
attempted to flee to China or South Korea, and only a few have evaded
capture. Those who are captured face torture or execution.
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