But even when there's not enough to eat, the country imports 120 tons of fruit for high-ranking officials.
“The North Koreans have been saying that the southern fruits will be gifted to officials in Pyongyang on Lunar New Year’s Day.” But sources say that merchants are able to bribe the police when they are caught raising prices. “The usual holiday atmosphere … In South Korea, the term is used to refer to fruits like lychee, mangosteen or durian, but in North Korea, bananas and pineapples are rare enough to also fit the bill. Their resentment towards the authorities … “They complain that prices always go up when the holidays come around, so they wish there were no holidays.”