The first line is key, because let's remember that this is a state that has - knowingly and systematically - starved its own rural population for many years, triggering what is arguably the most reprehensible experiment in mass malnutrition the world has seen since Mao murdered tens of millions with his Great Leap Forward:
To fend off starvation, North Korea will introduce bold agrarian reforms that will allow farmers to dispose of part of their harvests as they see fit.
The initiative was authorized by new leader Kim Jong Un, North Korean government and military sources said.
The planned reforms, the first in roughly 10 years, are intended to enhance yields and help mitigate chronic food shortages that plague the country.
The nation's ability to feed itself has fallen short by about 1 million tons a year.
But this year, a major drought has exacerbated the problem.
Under North Korea's system of collective labor in farming villages, harvests are collected by the state and redistributed to households according to their size.
The new system will allow farmers to do what they want with their harvests after they have handed over statutory amounts to the state.
This means they can consume the produce or sell it in markets, the sources said.
China introduced a similar "responsible production system" under its reform and door-opening policy that started in the late 1970s, whereupon yields increased rapidly.
North Korea has tried to follow China's model since the 1990s, but none of the reforms has taken root.
This is very good news, because it continues to suggest that Kim Jong Il's death has allowed a reformer son to emerge and finally manage what the crazy old man never could. HT to Chris Ridlon.
A DPRK set on the path of Dengist reforms will lower the temp in the region a bit, although its capacity for exciting anybody has now been completely surpassed by China's aggressive actions over its seabed claims.