By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- The longest cold spell in six decades has hit North Korea, a report said Tuesday, allowing people to walk across the frozen river in Pyongyang while causing farmers to worry about their crop production this year.

   Frozen along with the landmark Taedong River were ports on the west coast close to the capital, said the Chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper that has correspondents in the communist country but is published in Japan.

   The temperature in North Korea stayed below the freezing point for 40 consecutive days this winter, a phenomenon only surpassed by a 62-day streak in 1945, the paper said, citing a North Korean meteorologist.

   "Even last year's winter, which had already been colder than before, did not freeze the Taedong River this completely," the Chosun Sinbo said. "People are now walking across the Taedong river in the heart of the city."

   The chill has frozen soil up to 42 centimeters below, 10 cm deeper than last year, the paper said. The freeze may cause a delay in the plowing season, making farming more difficult although it does have the benefit of freezing harmful insects to death, it said.

   "At present, a wave of phone calls are being made by workers in the fields of agriculture and city construction" to the local weather agency with concerns, the paper said.

   South Korea also suffered a prolonged cold spell this year with temperatures even in the usually warmer southern regions dropping to their lowest levels in decades. Heavy snowfall and high waves also disrupted ground and sea traffic in those regions.

   Ryu Ki-yeol, the North Korean scientist cited by the Chosun Sinbo, cited a difference in pressure at the highest latitudes known as the Artic Oscillation as the cause of the prolonged cold spell.

   samkim@yna.co.kr
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