North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is dealing with a coronavirus pandemic, "disastrous meteorological phenomena" and a closed border with China.(Korean Central News Agency via Reuters)
Debra Killalea, ABC News Online: Kim Jong-un is dealing with coronavirus and a string of natural disasters. Can he maintain his grip on power?
It has battled typhoons, a storm, flooding, a coronavirus lockdown, and now North Korea faces a new challenge: to rebuild and harvest its crops before winter hits.
The country says it has been hit hard by "disastrous meteorological phenomena" this summer, with heavy rains and typhoons bringing the second-highest rainfall in 25 years.
For a nation that lives harvest to harvest, damage to rice crops can be a calamity.
Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have starved to death when a series of natural disasters and economic issues hit the country in the 1990s.
North Korea's then leader Kim Jong-il managed to maintain his power during the period known as the Arduous March by blaming the famine on external forces.
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WNU Editor: As long as the security services support him (and they do), he will continue to maintain his grip on power.
