Abstract

North Korea’s vulnerability to environmental shocks is an under-appreciated variable in the country’s human insecurity profile. Based on the United Nations Development Programme’s seven pillars of human security and using primary and secondary sources on weather, food and health conditions, the article argues that the intersection of environmental shocks with multiple human insecurities create an exacerbating chain effect on people’s lives in North Korea and prompt adaptive responses from both individuals and the government. We find the regional variations in adaptive capacity as the data shows more people from Hamgyong and Yanggang provinces used outbound migration as an option to survive than other areas, mediated by geography and gender. While Kim Jong Il largely failed to respond to human security threats, Kim Jong Un has adopted a few limited measures to mitigate further damages.

摘要

朝鲜对环境冲击的脆弱性是该国人类不安全状况中一个被低估的变量。基于联合国开发计划署的人类安全七大支柱，并利用天气、食物和健康状况的主要和次要来源，文章认为，环境冲击与多种人类不安全感的交叉对朝鲜人民的生活产生了加剧的连锁效应并促使个人和政府做出适应性反应。我们发现了适应能力的区域差异，因为数据显示来自咸镜和阳江省的更多人将出境移民作为生存的选择，而不是其他地区，受地理和性别的影响。虽然金正日在很大程度上未能应对人类安全威胁，