Up to 1,130,000 North Korean residents starved to death over the 15 years from 1994 to 2008, according to a state-run think tank Thursday.
In the report, “An Analysis of the North Korean Census in 2008 and Ensuing Problems,” the Korea Development Institute (KDI) claimed that this is the most reliable statistic ever put forward on deaths resulting from food shortages in the North.
The think tank said it has produced the outcome by analyzing North Korean population censuses in 1993 and 2008.
"North Korean residents ranging from half a million to 1,130,000 were additionally starved to death, when looking into the total population of the North as of 1993,” said Lee Seok, a KDI researcher.
He explained that the figures were based on the female population aged 30 or older, which could be least manipulated. “Statistics on the North Korean population have been allegedly manipulated to deceive people as to its exact number of troops,” Lee said. “The female population in the age group is free from manipulation.”
For example, a woman aged 35 in 1993 would be 50 in 2008, and when natural mortality was counted, the number of survivors in that year could be estimated, he explained.
The number of residents who starved to death is estimated from the population as of 2008 minus the estimated survivors although other factors exist.
The researcher said that the additional death rate of females aged 30 years or older from 1994 to 2008 was calculated at 3.84 percent. If the rate was the same for males, the number of men who starved to death would be 815,000 _ if the rate was halved, the figure would be 506,000.
If the male population is 1.5 times female population, an estimated 1,125,000 residents died from starvation, he said.
In 2010, Statistics Korea estimated that 48,000 North Koreans died from food shortages from 1995 to 2004.
The researcher said that the North had a population of 24.05 million as of Oct. 1, 2008, of whom about 3,810,000 were of the education level similar to high school graduates or higher in the South. The percentage of the workforce with a higher education compared to income level is the world’s highest, according to KDI.
Lee also estimated the North has up to 1,160,000 troops, far larger than the 700,000 troops in the North’s population statistics, but the number would increase to 1,160,000 if manipulation is considered.
The Ministry of National Defense estimated North Korean troops at 1,190,000 in 2008 and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has estimated the number at 1,110,000.
[email protected]
In the report, “An Analysis of the North Korean Census in 2008 and Ensuing Problems,” the Korea Development Institute (KDI) claimed that this is the most reliable statistic ever put forward on deaths resulting from food shortages in the North.
The think tank said it has produced the outcome by analyzing North Korean population censuses in 1993 and 2008.
"North Korean residents ranging from half a million to 1,130,000 were additionally starved to death, when looking into the total population of the North as of 1993,” said Lee Seok, a KDI researcher.
He explained that the figures were based on the female population aged 30 or older, which could be least manipulated. “Statistics on the North Korean population have been allegedly manipulated to deceive people as to its exact number of troops,” Lee said. “The female population in the age group is free from manipulation.”
For example, a woman aged 35 in 1993 would be 50 in 2008, and when natural mortality was counted, the number of survivors in that year could be estimated, he explained.
The number of residents who starved to death is estimated from the population as of 2008 minus the estimated survivors although other factors exist.
The researcher said that the additional death rate of females aged 30 years or older from 1994 to 2008 was calculated at 3.84 percent. If the rate was the same for males, the number of men who starved to death would be 815,000 _ if the rate was halved, the figure would be 506,000.
If the male population is 1.5 times female population, an estimated 1,125,000 residents died from starvation, he said.
In 2010, Statistics Korea estimated that 48,000 North Koreans died from food shortages from 1995 to 2004.
The researcher said that the North had a population of 24.05 million as of Oct. 1, 2008, of whom about 3,810,000 were of the education level similar to high school graduates or higher in the South. The percentage of the workforce with a higher education compared to income level is the world’s highest, according to KDI.
Lee also estimated the North has up to 1,160,000 troops, far larger than the 700,000 troops in the North’s population statistics, but the number would increase to 1,160,000 if manipulation is considered.
The Ministry of National Defense estimated North Korean troops at 1,190,000 in 2008 and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has estimated the number at 1,110,000.
[email protected]
