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| THE NORTH KOREAN FAMINE August 26, 1997 |
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Questions asked
in this forum:
How widespread is the famine? What causes the indifference in South Korea? How likely is another war? Shouldn't we defer to South Korea on questions of aid? How do I help? Wouldn't a free market economy end the famine? How accurate are food estimates in North Korea? How much has China helped its ally? What is being done to prevent future famines? Additional Comments...
NewsHour Backgrounders
August 5, 1997:
The NewsHour reports on new talks between North and South Korea brought about by widespread famine in the North.
June 11, 1997:
Margaret Warner discusses the state of North Korea with World Vision Vice President Andrew Natsios.
April 8, 1997:
Two Senators report on the state of the food crisis in North Korea after returning from the region.
February 11, 1997:
The former U.S. ambassador to South Korea discusses the recent labor unrest there and the famine in North Korea.
December 31, 1996
Charles Krause leads a discussion with two experts on recent tensions between North and South Korea.
November 29, 1996
Rep. Bill Richardson (D-NM) brought home an American man who was being held in North Korea.
May 21, 1996
Facing the real possibility of famine, North Korea's government has allowed United Nations relief officials into what are normally closed borders.
OUTSIDE LINKSVisit the Food for the Hungry and the World Vision Web sites for more information on their work on the Korean Peninsula.
A question from Doug Griffith of Arlington, VA: How widespread is the famine? Are any Communist Party Officials also suffering from hunger? Of the classifications, Loyal to the Regime, Neutral to the Regime, and Hostile to Regime, how is food aid distributed?
How well are relief workers able to monitor the distribution of food to ordinary people? How long can relief workers stay in the country?
Ted Yamamori of Food for the Hungry responds:
An estimated five million people out of a total population of 24 million are malnourished in North Korea. This includes 800,000 children. The United Nations says that 80,000 children are on the brink of starvation. The average daily ration is about 600 calories or about one-fourth of what the body needs to function and maintain itself. In some areas people receive even less. Everyone in the country is impacted to varying degrees by the famine. Those that are further from the capital suffer greater. On my last visit in July, I noticed many vehicles were stranded along the road sides. Fuel is in short supply as are parts to repair the vehicles.
The World Food Program, a division of the United Nations, has an increasing number of food monitors on the ground in North Korea to track food shipments. When I was in North Korea in July, I was allowed to see the distribution of a shipment Food for the Hungry had sent. Typically, relief workers are allowed in for a week or two at time. After much discussion North Korean officials agreed earlier this year to allow Erich Weingartner, a World Food Program Liaison Officer for Non-governmental Organizations, to be stationed in Pyongyang. Mr. Weingartner is funded by an alliance of six agencies as follows: Food for the Hungry, World Vision International, Canadian Food Grains Bank, Mercy Corps International, Adventist Relief and Development Agency, and Caritas. The food aid Food for the Hungry and other non-governmental organizations distribute is given with a humanitarian motivation and to those who need it most. Our focus is primarily on children.
Andrew Natsios of World Vision responds:
North Korea is expecting a shortfall of 2 million tons of grain - an amount proportionally higher than experienced by Ethiopia during its famine in the mid-1980s. Food shortages are being felt by all but the most privileged. Government officials and the military are experiencing food shortages, though not to the degree that some civilians in remote areas have been hit with.
The elderly, the sick and children are the first to succumb in any famine. A colleague who visited North Korea last month conducted the first nutritional survey there by an outside group. He found that 85 percent of the institutionalized children he surveyed were malnourished; 29 percent were severely malnourished. In unscientific terms, the medical doctor said the children were, "skin and bones with the faces of old men." The condition of the North Korean children was comparable to what he'd seen in Ethiopia during the famine of the mid-1980s.
In distribution of food aid, World Vision does not discriminate on the basis of political affiliation - nor does the Red Cross, United Nations or and credible relief organization. As President Ronald Reagan said, "A hungry child knows no politics."
A consortium of five international humanitarian agencies has sent staff to North Korea to assist in the distribution of much-needed food to help prevent malnutrition and starvation exacerbated by a drought affecting the country. Amigos Internacionales, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps and World Vision each has designated a relief expert to monitor the distribution of 55,000 metric tons of corn provided by the U.S. government to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).
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