N. Korean leader inspects farm, calls for increased cropping

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made a public
appearance at a cooperative farm and gave a pep talk to farmers while stressing
the importance of multiple cropping, the North's state media said Monday.
Kim Jong-il recently made a visit to the Unhung Cooperative Farm in Thaechon
County, North Pyongan Province, where he lauded local officials and farmers for
their work, according to a report from the North's official Korean Central News
Agency (KCNA) monitored in Seoul.
The report did not specify when Kim made the visit. He expressed "great
satisfaction" over the farm's overall production rate, which the KCNA described
as contributing to bringing about the nation's "richest harvest ever known."
Kim also underscored "the need to boldly improve the structure of the nation's
agricultural production" and highlighted that double cropping was a great way to
increase the grain produce in a country where "the area of cultivated land is
limited."
According to international estimates, North Korea's harvest this year is believed
to fall more than one million tons short of the food needed to feed its 24
million people. South Korean visitors to the North have recently reported the ill
conditions of rice paddies and corn fields due to the lack of fertilizer.
Late last month, South Korea offered to give North Korea 10,000 tons of corn and
other limited humanitarian aid in response to a request from the North Korea
during Red Cross talks on cross-border family reunions.
The aid, if accepted by the North, would be the first of its kind since South
Korea's Lee Myung-bak government came to power early last year, conditioning
state-level assistance on Pyongyang's denuclearization.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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