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| Korea |
| Starving North Korea pleads for aid amid nuclear standoff |
| 2003-02-09 |
| North Korea is appealing to the outside world for assistance as aid workers and diplomats in Pyongyang warn that this impoverished state is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. I think we all saw this one coming. In a rare direct entreaty to international public opinion, the top government official responsible for disaster prevention urged donors not to cut support because of the country's ongoing nuclear "Only we commies are allowed to do stuff like that!" 'Our people are trying to overcome their problems, but we face a shortage of food. I sincerely hope that international humanitarian assistance will continue.' The appeal, made during an exclusive interview with The Observer, is remarkable for a proudly defiant country that would usually rather starve than try to elicit sympathy. That it came through the media - rather than quietly behind the scenes through the UN - underlines the desperate concern of the North Korean government as international donations of food have dried up since the start of the nuclear crisis. This is fairly objective evidence that the Bush administration's "rope-a-dope" tactics have worked again. Sit back and let the other guy hang himself. North Korea, the world's most isolated nation, is stuck in an Orwellian 1984. As far as the lives of the people in Pyongyang are concerned, the Cold War never ended and globalisation has passed them by completely. The country retains a political system built around utter devotion to the 'Great Leader' Kim Jong-il and a paranoid fear of the outside world, particularly the US. But isolation has come at an appalling price. Formerly one of only two industrialised nations in Asia, North Korea has steadily regressed into an economic basket case as natural disasters, sanctions and calamitous policy decisions Power has ebbed away faster in recent months because of the nuclear crisis. America - In Europe, which is still supplying maize, it is becoming harder The World Food Programme has been forced to axe support for three million people and reduce rations for 3.2 million 'Since November, the situation has steadily deteriorated. It is now very dramatic, very depressing,' said Anahit Sadoyan of the World Food Programme, which has been forced to close a production line at a Pyongyang food processing factory because donations of maize ran out. 'It is hurting the children the most. They shouldn't suffer because of the political situation. It is not their fault.' We'll agree with you, Anahit, it shouldn't be the childrens' fault. Now then, what would you do about it? Poverty is apparent even in Pyongyang. Although there are few signs of malnutrition, electricity is in such short supply that the government has closed the Children's Palace - one of the centrepieces of national culture - because it cannot heat the building. The deprivation gets worse the further you get from the capital. On the road to Shinchon, a town about an hour's drive south of Pyongyang, cars are scarce but an almost endless stream of farmers, soldiers and children walk along the paddyfields. Looking for missed grains of rice. Only one tractor was visible even though this is one of the most important agricultural regions of North Korea. The biggest vehicles were open-backed trucks, overflowing with people. Some vehicles were powered by wood burners rather than petrol. The worst-hit areas are in the north and east, where The Observer was denied access. 'The situation in the north-east is worse than the Horn of Africa or Chechnya,' said one aid worker. 'I have never seen children suffering so badly from malnutrition. The growth of children has been stunted to such a degree that 11-year-olds look like six-year-olds. Generations of North Koreans will be mentally retarded.' If even a tenth of this is true, it makes the Ethiopian disaster of the early 1980's look tame. Jeebus. Although last autumn's crop was good compared with previous years, it was still more than a million tonnes below the minimum needs of the population of 22 million. With the lean season beginning in April, the fear is that North Korea will plunge back into the dark days of the late Nineties when hundreds of thousands are believed to have died of starvation. Make that millions. Since that time, more than one in four of the population have been fed by the World Food Programme - which has its biggest project in North Korea. A nationwide health study, due to be released within the week, is expected to show a 33 per cent improvement in nutrition rates. But even with the gains, two out of every five children remain malnourished. The socialist economy is in a dire state, though no one knows quite how bad because figures are either unreliable or Looked to me like it was a clever ploy to suck the remaining currency out of the pockets of the people. True to the principles of Orwellian Newspeak, the darker the situation becomes, the brighter the state-controlled media reports the news. Despite the fact that millions have been shivering in flats with no heat and dim lights despite temperatures as low as minus 21C (minus 6F), the Pyongyang Times recently ran a report lauding the success of the power industry. Unusually, though, government officials have admitted on record to me that the situation is bleak. Oh Yong-il, external director of the Economic Promotion Committee, said shortages of electricity meant machine-tool factories were only able to run at 60 to 70 per cent of capacity and the furnaces at steel and iron works were not functioning. 'It is hurting people in their daily lives,' he said. 'Shops and factories are not producing the things people need.' Blaming the US for isolating North Korea, he said the cutting of 500,000 tonnes of heavy oil a year was creating huge problems around the Unggi power plant where the fuel was used. So persuade your government to shut down the nuke program. We could be flexible. Maybe. But in words that would have been sacrilegious a year ago, he said the incentive of profits - one of the aims of the recent reforms - was necessary. 'Contrary to before, people can earn profits,' he said. 'This will inspire people to produce more because it is in their self-interest.' But this modernising chink in the country's socialist ideology has been overwhelmed by the nuclear crisis, which has taken the country back to the Orwellian mindset. Instead of the looming humanitarian crisis, the nation is fixated on the threat of a US attack. Even at the General Hospital of Koryo Medicine in Pyongyang the doctors are preparing to fight America, not malnutrition. 'If Kim Jong-il calls us, I'll leave the hospital and fight in the army,' said Hyon Chol, the deputy director. 'A lack of food and energy does not really have an effect on our people's health,' he insisted. 'We want help but we are not going to beg for peace.' As you wish. We're just going to wait. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #8 We'll give 'em all the food they need - if they let the ROKs deliver it to the peasants. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-02-09 22:13:58 |
| #7 "Generations of North Koreans will grow up retarded" Good, no reason they shouldnt mix with the south koreans as equals... |
| Posted by: flash91 2003-02-09 16:32:55 |
| #6 I haven't heard a peep out of China about this situation lately. Are they still trying to keep the monkey on our backs? We need to keep reminding the world that the NKor army takes the resources away from the kids. Just like Sammy does. Of course the UN does not address that issue, either. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-02-09 15:26:31 |
| #5 FLASH: Satellite photos reveal that the North Koreans also have possession of the world's smallest violin, playing just for them. The Pentagon has commented that the NKors are certainly well ahead of America in terms of stringed-instrument miniaturization technology, but asserted this was due to America not being filled with complete blithering idiots. |
| Posted by: Just John 2003-02-09 10:52:22 |
| #4 Being malnourished in childhood doesn't make you any smarter when you reach adultery. I wonder if that's intentional? |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-02-09 08:55:44 |
| #3 They're committing demographic suicide. By feeding the army and starving the children, they are killing off their draft levy in future years. Since this has been going on for a number of years already, it is only a short period of time before the actual strength numbers of even the army begins to decline as there are no replacements in the overall population. |
| Posted by: Don 2003-02-09 08:35:41 |
| #2 The Observer is being a bit disingenuous.The US food programme has been stopped because NK refuses to let independent observers (no pun)to verify that the food reaches the right people.Kim,like Stalin before him,uses starvation to get rid of people classified as "unreliable". |
| Posted by: El Id 2003-02-09 05:17:18 |
| #1 "An army marches on its belly." I've heard reports that even the military is short on fuel. Either they've hoarded enough food and fuel for the military, in which case they maybe planning to grab reserves from South Korea... or it's already over and we're just waiting it out. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-02-09 03:19:28 |