I have been giving this subject some thought lately. Humans originally lived as hunter-gatherers. They would necessarily have lived in small groups, and cities and towns would be impossible. Since you have to go out and forage for your food every day, a concentrated population would very quickly strip the countryside completely bare and everyone would starve. Only a very sparse population is possible without agriculture.
To invent agriculture (or most any advanced technology) you really need to have people bounce their ideas off of each other. No one comes up with a true brainstorm in a vacuum. You discuss your idea with others, they critique it, and you then think about the critique. Most of the time people give feedback that is negative and idiotic, but once in a while, someone gives feedback that hits you like an epiphany.
My point being: It seems like civilization would have been necessary to invent domesticated food plants, but civilization needs agriculture in order to exist. It's a chicken and egg conundrum.
I mention all of this to point out that foraging won't work. NK has a population density that is hundreds of times more than could be sustained by mother nature. If their crops fail: They starve (unless someone bails them out).
Of course in this case, "foraging" is just a euphemism for "looting".
It did sound like they were stripping everything they could find...that’s why I’m so surprised they’re going for more.
And as someone else here said up top, this is winter. There are no crops growing.
Maybe they’re finally eating babies. Not sure what could possibly be left...and that’s got to be a horrible life.
Do as you’re told and work for scraps, or get carted off to a labor camp to work for free.
I’d probably take ol Wormy boy’s approach and run for the border too.
Good point.