Price of rice in N. Korea rises over past 6 months: ministry

SEOUL (Yonhap) - The price of rice in North Korea has risen constantly over the past six months, reaching as much as 2,400 North Korean won (US$17.18) per kilogram early this month, South Korea's Unification Ministry said Friday.
After falling to as low as 1,400 won per kilogram, rice prices started to increase in April and reached between 2,200 and 2,400 won by early this month, according to the ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.
The ministry said the data was based on the testimonies of North Korean defectors.
The North Korean people are known to suffer from chronic food shortages due to poor harvests and economic mismanagement. The country has relied on foreign handouts since the late 1990s when it suffered a massive famine that reportedly killed 2 million people.
In Pyongyang, the price of rice started to soar on rumors that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il failed to secure much aid during his trip to Russia last month, according to Good Friends, a private South Korean relief group. It also said some top officials at the North's Ministry of Foreign Trade were arrested or replaced over their inability to obtain food.
Meanwhile, recent international rice donations are reportedly not enough to feed the North's population of 24 million.