hankyoreh

By Kwon Tae-ho, Washington Correspondent

At a hearing at the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs on June 2, United States Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues Robert King said with regard to food aid to North Korea, “South Korea does not want the United States to give food aid [to North Korea].” Many people have already observed that the Lee Myung-bak administration’s stance toward the US giving food aid to North Korea is negative, but this is the first time that a high-ranking U.S. figure has made such a concrete statement of the fact in a public setting.

“I discussed the issue of food aid to North Korea with the South Korean government,” King said at the hearing. “Korea expressed its opposition in the process of these discussions.” King added, “But the South Korean government is permitting food aid from NGOs in Korea [although there is no food aid from the government].” He also said, “I had an intimate discussion of North Korean issues with the South Korean government. We agreed on many issues, but there was disagreement on some others.”

Such statements on the part of King allow us to guess that Barack Obama administration has solidified its plan for food aid to the North and will no longer pay attention to opposition from South Korea. Since the process of harmonization between the U.S. and South Korean governments regarding food aid to North Korea began earlier this year, neither side has officially revealed differences of opinion. Given that food aid to North Korea was such a sensitive issue between the two states, it appears that King’s statement has something of the character of pressure on the South Korean government.

King also said, “We made no decision on whether to provide food aid to North Korea,” while at the same time saying, “We will not take politics into consideration.”

This statement is also being interpreted as meaning that the United States will provide food aid regardless of the current stalemate in inter-Korean relations. It appears that King’s visits to schools, hospitals and orphanages when in North Korea have had an effect.

Also noteworthy at the hearing was King’s announcement of a set of strict and yet highly specific “three principles” for food aid to North Korea: rice will not be provided, in order to prevent its use exclusively for the military; improved monitoring, with Korean-speaking workers on the ground, is essential; and aid will be provided gradually, in several stages.

Not giving rice is interpreted as a kind of compromise aimed at soothing opposition from the South Korean government and from conservatives in the United States who worry that it will be used only by the North Korean military. King explained, “Our focus is on nutrition programs and we will provide food supplies that cannot be used exclusively by the military.” This means that U.S. aid will be focused on children and the middle classes and below, and will exclude items that can be distributed in markets or that have a high cash exchange value.

With regard to improved monitoring, King also stated, “We will station Korean-speaking workers at food distribution centers.” This stance asserts the need for a greatly improved level of monitoring than that of 2008, when the U.S. last sent food aid to the North.

Lastly, King explained, “Rather than supplying a large amount of aid at one time, we will send it at a very slow speed.” This appears aimed at preventing North Korea from breaking its promises. On June 3, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported that North Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-kwan had accepted all conditions suggested by the U.S. when he met King.

At the hearing, King explained the atmosphere at talks with North Korea, saying, “I discussed human rights issues with First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-kwan for 20 minutes. He invited me back to Pyongyang to discuss human rights.”

In response, an official at the South Korean Ministry of Unification said, “The United States, as a sovereign state, has said that it will provide food aid so South Korea is not in a position to say anything.”

However, there is no reason for South Korea to do the same as the U.S. if it provides aid. It is hard for the Korean government to provide aid until the “May 24 measures” [put in place last year in response to the sinking of the Cheonan] are withdrawn.”

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