N. Korea hit recently with greater volatility in prices, exchange rate: ministry
SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is faced with greater volatility in foreign exchange rates and prices of goods, the unification ministry said Monday, amid economic challenges fueled by the protracted coronavirus pandemic.
"The government is keeping an eye on the volatility of major economic indices, including the prices of goods and currency exchange," Lee Jong-joo, the ministry's spokesperson, told a regular press briefing.
"We believe that such indices have become more volatile recently," she said.
North Korea appears to be making efforts to tackle the coronavirus situation while seeking to soften its blow on the economy as protracted antivirus efforts have affected "people's living to some degree," she added.
In June, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un acknowledged that the country is facing a "tense" food shortage.
North Korea is known for chronic food shortages, which appear to have been aggravated by last summer's back-to-back typhoons and flooding that wrought havoc on key farming areas. A think tank in Seoul earlier said the North could be faced with a food shortage of around 1.3 million tons this year.

This photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korean state media, on Oct. 17, 2020, shows a cooperative farm in a county in South Hwanghae Province. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
-
N. Korean leader's sister condemns U.S. provision of tanks to Ukraine
-
Prosecutors indict head of hotel adjoining site of Itaewon crowd crush
-
(LEAD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 30,000
-
U.N. rapporteur for N. Korea human rights to visit S. Korea next week
-
(Yonhap Interview) NATO chief calls for stronger security ties with S. Korea to address China, other global challenges