S. Korea shifts its position on aid to N. Korea

Posted on : 2008-05-20 13:31 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Gov’t willing to provide aid without N. Korean request if food shortage is serious
 Gangwon Province
Gangwon Province

With the announcement of U.S. food aid to North Korea, the South Korean government has relaxed its stance on providing aid to the North. At a press conference on May 19, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hwan remarked, “If the food shortage proves to be very serious or a huge disaster occurs in the North, the South could offer food assistance.” The government has been in a quandary since the United States announced that it would provide food aid to the North. The South has provided approximately 500,000 tons of food to the North in the form of a loan, but this year, it said that it will send food only if the North asks for it.

The current government’s position is that Seoul will consider providing food assistance only if Pyongyang requests it. Yoo certainly has reconfirmed this in his statement. However, he added the food assistance could be provided under certain conditions - if the food shortage is confirmed as serious or in the event of a severe disaster - meaning that even in the absence of a formal request from the North, the South could provide indirect assistance through international organizations or domestic civil groups. Seoul provided indirect food aid to the North through the World Food Organization in 2007.

Another government official confirmed this by saying that if there is mass starvation or a serious natural disaster in the North, the South can offer emergency assistance even if there is no request from Pyongyang.

The problem is that it will be difficult for the South to determine under which circumstances emergency assistance should be provided because there is no detailed information on the North’s food situation and North Korea has not provided any official statistical data on the issue. The United States, Japan and international organizations have only been able to provide estimates regarding food production and shortages in the North. According to a South Korean government estimate, the North’s food shortage will amount to about 1.2 million tons this year.

Minister Yoo said, “Numbers aren’t important with regard to the North’s food shortage,” adding that when the North has faced shortages in the past, North Korean residents who live in the northern part of the country were unable to get the food that had been provided by other countries and unloaded in the southern part of the country due to the nation’s poor transportation system.

Regarding this, representatives from the World Food Program will reportedly make a visit to North Korea to discuss food assistance with the authorities. Following this, it is possible that the South could go ahead and offer indirect aid to the North through international relief organizations.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

Most viewed articles