World · East Asia & Pacific · 18 hrs ago
North Korean Defector Says He Survived Minus 40 Degrees on Mount Baekdu
A North Korean defector says he survived extreme cold on Mount Baekdu, where temperatures fell to minus 40 degrees.
He is now living with cancer while trying to be a father.
The story recalls North Korea’s mid-1990s “Arduous March,” a period of economic hardship.
From 1995, famine killed many people over about three years.
The phrase “Arduous March” was first used for a 1938–39 period when Kim Il Sung’s guerrilla forces faced cold, hunger and pursuit in the mountains.
The account gives no details about what happens next for the man.
A North Korean defector says he survived temperatures of minus 40 degrees on Mount Baekdu.
The article headline says he is battling cancer and lives to fulfill his role as a father.
The article describes North Korea’s mid-1990s “Arduous March,” when economic hardship led to many deaths from starvation.
It says the term originally referred to a period in 1938 and 1939 when Kim Il Sung’s guerrilla unit was pursued and faced extreme cold and hunger.
- Who
- A North Korean defector; his name is not stated in the available text.
- What
- He says he survived minus 40-degree conditions on Mount Baekdu.
- When
- Not stated
- Where
- Mount Baekdu
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The term “Arduous March” originally referred to a period when Kim Il Sung’s guerrilla unit faced pursuit, extreme cold and hunger.
Economic hardship in North Korea led to many deaths from starvation.
- Temperature
- Minus 40 degrees
- Location
- Mount Baekdu
- Defector’s condition
- Battling cancer, according to the headline
- Arduous March
- Economic hardship from 1995 for about three years
- Earlier use of the term
- About 100 days from late 1938 to early 1939
What people are saying
I live to fulfill my role as a father even while battling cancer