The North Korean famine that occurred from 1994 to 1998

And short-term government decisions, Natsios argued, exacerbated that disaster. In 1995, the regime "triaged" the entire northeast region of the country—in essence, blocking food shipments to that portion of the population in order to ensure subsistence food supplies for the capital Pyongyang, whose support was critical to the government. "No food deliveries were made to that region for 2 ½ years," said Natsios. Workers in "unessential industries" such as mining were also triaged.