If desperate times really do call for desperate measures, then we should all be keeping an eye on what’s being called a food crisis in North Korea.

The country is well-known for its defiant attitude toward nuclear weapons and missile testing, escalating the potential for some kind of Armageddon. Countries have slapped trade sanctions against North Korea for what many see as reckless and aggressive weapons activities.

If the goal was to weaken North Korea, it appears the tactic’s worked. Reuters News Agency says sanctions, which date back to the turn of the century, have led to food insecurity. It reported earlier this week that North Korea has cut rations to its soldiers, for the first time in more than two decades.

That’s a volatile situation for the always-unpredictable dictator Kim Jong Un. The last thing an avowed despot wants is a weak military, even if he has nuclear bombs in his back pocket.

But food shortages transcend the military. In South Korea, observers with a knowledge of their northern neighbour are calling this situation a crisis. Reuter’s reports that last month, the US-based monitoring group 38 North said food availability “has likely fallen below the bare minimum with regard to human needs,” with food insecurity at its worst since the famines of the 1990s.

Shortages are affecting everyone. Even though North Korea has lived through sanctions, famine and serious crop losses before, this time it looks worse than ever, thanks in part to self-imposed restricted trade to try keeping COVID out. The World Food Program is involved but apparently little headway is being made.

Rather than back off the nuclear arms push, though, and open his country to food imports and technology from countries that could help remedy the situation, Kim wants North Korea to get better at feeding itself. He’s now pounding the table for what he calls “fundamental transformation” in food production. Observers say Kim’s insistence has led to plans for an urgent meeting on agriculture.

Improved food security is never a bad idea. But who knows if Kim is grasping at straws? Probably. At best, he’s ill-informed if he thinks in the middle of a food crisis North Korea can transform agriculture.

What he really needs is food and farming aid and a less hostile attitude towards those who could actually help North Koreans caught in the middle of all this.

Then, transform agriculture.

North Korea’s food production comes mainly from small farmers with limited resources. Kim has set grain production targets for them, calling it a top priority.

But you can’t repeatedly do the same thing and expect change. North Korean farmers need access to agricultural technology, which given the state of affairs there, appears to be lacking. Most lately Kim’s mentioned it’s important to grow “agricultural production forces,” a vague statement that further underlines that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Agricultural cooperation and knowledge sharing happens around the world. Anti-technology groups hate it, but research-based advancements in one country help others elsewhere who need them.

Transforming agriculture doesn’t mean going back to the old days. Improved traditional approaches might be part of it, but when your country is starving, you need tools that work, not speeches.