Asked whether Washington has become ““hysterical’’ over the nuclear issue, Kim said: ““I perceive some exaggeration in media accounts which describe it as a “crisis.’ It goes too far.’’ He went on to give an assessment of North Korea’s economic situation: ““It’s in very serious condition. There are food shortages. In the countryside, there is not enough food for people to have one meal a day . . . Malnutrition has even been affecting the military . . . At the moment, 80 percent of the North’s factories do not work. There is only about three hours of electricity a day.''
The possibility that war could break out over the nuclear issue, Kim said, ““is practically nil,’’ because North Korea knows that if it does anything ““irrational’’ it will ““result in damage to itself.''
