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The first train on the route from Komusan Station since recent flooding hit and tracks were repaired

The Park Geun-hye administration refuses to budge in its position on humanitarian aid to North Korea in the wake of what Pyongyang is calling the most extreme disaster since Liberation in the flood-ravaged northern region of North Hamgyong Province.

While the rest of the international community scrambles to reach out a hand through UN bodies at various levels in North Korea, Seoul has clearly stated its de facto refusal to provide aid, citing leader Kim Jong-un’s “responsibility” for a recent fifth nuclear test. The response runs counter not only to the international community’s principles on human rights - which place humanitarian aid out of bounds for sanctions - but also the Park administration’s own past approach. A growing number of critics from across society are arguing that Seoul should learn from the policies of past administrations, which regarded humanitarian aid as pump-priming to improve inter-Korean relations, as well as leverage for promoting emotional sympathies with reunification and overcoming Korea’s division.

Responding to a question on Seoul’s policies on flood aid to North Korea during a regular briefing on Sept. 19, Unification Ministry spokesperson Jeong Joon-hee said any aid “must be preceded by an examination of the relief’s nature and the damage situation, with a decision based on full consideration of the need for emergency relief, transparency, and North Korea‘s requests.”

The message was a reiteration of Seoul’s previous policy approach. The problem was what came next.

“The North carried out a massively expensive fifth nuclear test despite its flood damages,” Jeong continued. “Since it committed money and effort to something unrelated to public welfare in spite of the task it faced [with flood recovery], we first need to deal with the issue of the North’s responsibility.”

It’s an attitude that defies human rights principles, showing a disregard for the basic principles of international humanitarianism by forcing ordinary North Koreans facing disastrous floods to bear the responsibility for the Kim Jong-un regime’s actions. The introduction to UN Security Council Resolution 2270, which the Park administration has touted as the “toughest sanctions resolution in the 70-year history of the UN,” emphasizes that “measures [sanctions] imposed by this resolution are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of DPRK.” The explicit message is that sanctions after North Korea’s nuclear test and humanitarian aid are separate issues.

The Park administration sidestepped the question of whether flood aid would be provided by saying there had been “no request from the North” to date.

“The international principle of emergency relief is to answer the requests of the state in question,” Jeong said at the briefing. “The international practice is not to provide support without a state‘s request.”

The international standard and practices referred to by Jeong is a resolution adopted by the 78th UN General Assembly on Dec. 19, 1991, on “strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian emergency assistance of the United States.” The first Guiding Principle of that resolution states that humanitarian assistance is “of cardinal importance for the victims of natural disasters and other emergencies.” The international standard cited by the Park administration can be found in Guiding Principle 3, which states that “humanitarian assistance should be provided with the consent of the affected country and in principle on the basis of an appeal by the affected country.”

But the resolution’s terms are provisions put in place to respect the sovereignty of countries suffering from disasters - not a shield against responsibility for providing aid. Indeed, Guiding Principle 7 stipulates that “states in proximity to emergencies are urged to participate closely with the affected countries in international efforts, with a view to facilitating, to the extent possible, the transit of humanitarian assistance.”

In fact, numerous precedents for humanitarian assistance without an official request can be found in the history of inter-Korean relations. A prominent case occurred in Sep. 1984, when the greater Seoul region was hit with severe flooding. Torrential rains had afflicted the area since Aug. 31 of that year. Seoul alone suffered 334.4 mm of rainfall in three days. Figures calculated by the Ministry of the Interior at the time showed 86 deaths nationwide - mostly in the capital region - and close to 100,000 people directly affected. That Sep. 8, the North Korean Red Cross association unexpectedly announced the sending of 50,000 seok [a unit equivalent to 180 liters] of rice, 500,000 meters of fabric, 100,000 tons of cement, and various pharmaceuticals as relief goods. No formal appeal had been made by South Korea. The time in question was one of competition between the two regimes. Six days later, the Chun Doo-hwan administration (1980-88) decided after some debate to accept the North’s offer. The items were conveyed between Sept. 29 and Oct. 4 by way of Panmunjeom and the ports of Incheon and Bukpyung.

“After that, Red Cross talks were held, along with economic talks and parliamentary talks,” said former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun. “The momentum from that is what allowed inter-Korean dialogue to be upgraded to prime minister-level talks from the 1990s.”

A similar event occurred on Sep. 20-23, 1985, when the two sides held their first simultaneous visit exhcanges by members of divided families in the 40 years since Korea was divided.

“There have been many instances where the exchange of humanitarian aid has been a good opportunity to ease inter-Korean relations,” said Jeong. “The government talks about ’humanitarianism‘ and ‘human rights’ every chance it gets, but we shouldn’t prevent aid at the civilian level too.”

Inje University professor Kim Yeon-cheol also criticized Seoul’s actions on the issue.

“Since the Dresden Declaration [of Mar. 2014], the Park Geun-hye administration has stressed that humanitarian aid would not be subject to sanctions. For the administration to not provide humanitarian aid when a situation occurs where it is clearly necessary is an abandonment of its own stated principle,” he said.

Article 2-1 of the North Korean Human Rights Act, which went into effect on Sep. 4, stipulates that the state “must confirm that North Korean residents possess dignity and values and human beings and have the right to pursue happiness, and work toward protecting and promoting their human rights.” When told by a reporter that the law contained references to humanitarian aid, Jeong Joon-hee replied, “It doesn’t say to always do it under any circumstances. The current situation is different.”

Korea National Strategy Institute director Kim Chang-soo said, “Between Kim Jong-un’s nuclear test and Park Geun-hye’s refusal to allow aid, the only ones suffering are the people of North Korea.”

By Jung In-hwan and Kim Jin-cheol, staff reporters

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