이 글은 최근 제기되는 북한의 식량 위기론을 판단하기 위한 것이다. 이를 위해 FAD(Food Availability Decline; 식량가용량 감소)와 FED(Food Entitlement Decline: 식량획득력 감소) 이론을 활용하여 1990년대와 2020년대 사례를 비교하였다. FAD는 식량의 가용량을 중시하나, FED는 식량 획득을 위한 분배체계와 시장의 식량 교환권 보장이 중요하다고 본다. 분석 결과 1990년대 대기근은 자연재해 등으로 FAD 관점의 식량 생산량 감소 탓도 있으나, FED 관점에서 배급 체계가 붕괴되고 시장에서 식량교환 획득체계가 작동하지 못한 것이 크게 작용한 것으로 나타났다. 2020년대 식량 위기론은 대북 제재와 코로나19 봉쇄로 무역과 외부 도입이 급감하고 자연재해까지 발생해 공급량이 감소해 비롯된 것이나, 1990년대처럼 대기근으로 이어질 가능성은 낮은 것으로 보인다. 이는 2020년대가 1990년대와 다르게 국가기관과 기업소, 공장 및 협동농장, 국영농장의 공적분배체계(PDS)가 가동되고, 특히 시장의 식량교환 획득체계가 작동하기 때문이다. 북한 전역의 시장은 공급과 수요 논리가 작동하는 시스템으로 자리잡아 식량 부족을 보완하는 기능을 하고 있다. 그러나, 앞으로 봉쇄와 내부 통제가 장기화되면 위기론이 지속되고, 빈곤층·노약자 등 약자층이 피해를 볼 가능성이 높다. 이 글은 정책적 시사점으로 단기적으로 FAD 관점의 가용량 부족에 대응해 남한 정부가 국제사회와 협조해 식량과 코로나 19 대응을 지원하고, 중장기적으로는 FED 관점의 획득력 제고에 초점을 맞춰 북한의 농업 생산성을 높일 수 있도록 기술 지원이나 북한의 시장 및 경제적 제도개선 자문 등이 필요함을 제시하였다.
The purpose of this article is to determine how serious the current food problem is in the DPRK. To this end, the food availability decline(FAD) and food entitlement decline(FED) approaches were implemented to compare the Arduous March (great famine) period of the 1990s with the food problem of the 2020s. FAD focuses on the total amount of food supplied, while FED focuses on food distribution systems and the guarantee of the right to purchase food in the market. The analysis revealed that a lack of production was not the sole cause of the famine in the 1990s. The DPRK received between 0.5 and 1.6 million tons of food aid each year in the 1990s, which is enough to meet its essential food needsg. Although the food supply decreased during the key period of 1995-1997, the concentration of victims in specific regions and classes is believed to be largely due to the FED aspects, that is, the collapse of the public distribution system and the failure of the market-based food purchasing system. The food crisis of the 2020s stems from a sharp drop in trade and imports due to sanctions against the DPRK and the COVID-19 related lockdown, as well as a decrease in supply due to natural disasters. However, we have heard no reports of starvation because, unlike in the 1990s, the public distribution system (PDS) for government agencies, enterprises, factories, cooperative farms, and state-run farms is still operational in the 2020s, albeit to a limited extent, and, in particular, because the market-based food purchasing system is functioning. More than 400 markets scattered across the DPRK provide food on a supply and demand basis and function as a mechanism to mitigate the food shortage. However, if foreign trade blockages and internal controls are prolonged due to the continued sanctions against the DPRK and the COVID-19 crisis, it may become more difficult to invest in agriculture and restrictions on movement and distribution will continue, resulting in a continued even intensified, food crisis. Moreover, with the gap between the rich and the poor has emerged in recent years due to individual economic activities in the market, the risk to the socially underprivileged such as the elderly, the disabled, and infants has increased. Therefore, as a policy implication, in the short term, the ROK government should act on the FAD aspect by cooperating with the international community to actively review food aid and COVID-19 support in response to the shortage of food supply, and in the mid to long term, it should act on the FED aspect by offering technical support or advice to increase agricultural productivity or to improve the DPRK"s market and economic system.