Return of the street children

From the Daily NK:

Homeless children are reappearing on North Korean streets as soaring food prices drive desperate families deeper into poverty.

Children begging and stealing food around markets and train stations have become increasingly common, with people saying there are “definitely more than before.”

A Daily NK source said recently that authorities had reduced street children through crackdowns and support programs just one or two years ago. But they’ve returned to the streets in large numbers recently, prompting some to call it “evidence that people are struggling to survive.”

The children survive by stealing from passersby or eating food scraps around markets and train stations.

The resurgence stems from worsening food shortages as market prices have surged in recent months. Families living day-to-day can no longer cope, the source said. In rural areas, growing numbers of households survive on just a few potatoes daily because they can’t afford rice or corn.