North Korean People Need Food for the Winter Time
North Korea's (Democratic People's Republic of Korea/DPRK) harvests are recovering from famine levels, but millions could still starve as donors like the United States withhold food aid amid rising political tensions, the U.N. World Food Program said last week.
Source : BASE21
by Christian/Base21 Media Activist
dvs-b@t-online.de
North Korea's (Democratic People's Republic of Korea/DPRK) harvests are recovering from famine levels, but millions could still starve as donors like the United States withhold food aid amid rising political tensions, the U.N. World Food Program said last week.
None of the agency's three biggest donors to the DPRK the U.S., Japan and South Korea have stepped forward to offer any support for next year, said Executive Director James T. Morris.
He blamed a combination of "political and administrative reasons" for the cut-off.
"We simply do not have resources from our donors to do the work at the level needed for the rest of this year, and we virtually have no commitments for next year," he said.
The DPRK leadership, special Kim Jong-il, has angered its benefactors by admitting it had tried to secretly develop nuclear weapons and had kidnapped a dozen Japanese citizens 25 years ago, some of whom died under mysterious circumstances.
North Korea has relied on outside food aid since the collapse of its "planned" economy triggered a famine in the mid-1990s that killed as many as 2 million.
While DPRK grew 5 percent more rice and other cereals this year than last year, it will still be 1.1 million tons short of enough to feed its 25 million people, Morris said.
The agency hopes to provide at least a half-million tons of food next year to feed 6.4 million people it said are the most at risk.
Morris said he will travel to Seoul and Tokyo to seek more aid.
Last year, Japan accounted for 45 percent of the $103 million in aid distributed in North Korea by the World Food Program, Morris said. This year, it donated nothing.
Morris said he was in Beijing to urge the Chinese to help make up the shortfall. Lack of food has been one reason thousands of illegal North Korean migrants have flooded into China.
"This part of the world has a crisis on its hands," he said.
Morris also expressed frustration at North Korea for hindering aid efforts. He said U.N. officials are often prevented from checking on food distribution, and many areas of the country remain off limits.
"It is hard to understand why any roadblocks are put in our way," Morris said.
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