In a real sense, Kim Jong-Il may have nuked his food supply heading into winter on the Korean peninsula. The sanctions that Pyongyang provoked have cut deeply into the crucial aid that would have kept his subjects from starvation:

North Korean food shortages have grown worse after its recent nuclear test led donors to withdraw aid, the UN says.

The UN official monitoring human rights in North Korea, Vitit Muntarbhorn, said the food shortage was critical.

North Korea is already short of food and this year floods have damaged the harvest, making matters even worse.

President Kim Jong-Il's nuclear test has led to international condemnation of the secretive regime and sanctions against its nuclear programme.

Put simply, Western nations don't plan on bailing Kim out of another famine, especially when everyone knows that any food aid will first go to the military. Had Kim not tested his nukes and his Taepodong-2 missiles this year, aid would have flowed to Kim's regime as an incentive to continue his negotiations. In this case, it demonstrates that the best weapons sometimes are the ones that sit on the shelf; his tests have removed their deterrence value, and the West now has to react to the new reality.

Kim may face more problems than food supply. The Chinese have made their anger towards their client very plain, which caused Kim to backtrack somewhat on an announced second nuclear test. The Chinese may still provide some food aid just to keep Korean refugees from flooding into China, but without Japan and the US providing assistance, the situation in North Korea could quickly destabilize. Kim survived three coup attempts in the 90s during the last famine, but that was when he could count on Chinese support, and that has changed significantly.

Keep an eye on Pyongyang. The DPRK Army tried twice to remove Kim, and if they get hungry enough, they may try it again.

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