N.Korean food aid dries up as donations slump
This story is indeed a tragedy, but what makes it even worse is that it doesn't have to happen. In the pursuit of Marxist-Leninist purity, the North Korean government has pursued policies that have studiously and egregiously ignored the well-being of those it governs. Who says Communism isn't a morally bankrupt ideology?
BEIJING, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) began halting food aid to millions of hungry North Korean children, women and elderly people this month because of a severe slump in grain donations.
By the end of the year, some three million people will be cut off and another 1.5 million may follow early next year, Rick Corsino, who runs WFP operations in North Korea, told a Beijing news conference on Monday.
"We're continuing to try to feed the most vulnerable of the vulnerable as long as we possibly can and these are the youngest children. But by November, December we are essentially going to be exhausted," he said.
The isolated, hardline Communist state of 23 million people -- branded part of an "axis of evil" by U.S. President George W. Bush -- has been hard hit by several years of natural disasters, chronic food and energy shortages, and economic mismanagement.
This month, 1.4 million primary and secondary school children and needy elderly people will be dropped from WFP distribution plans. In October, preschoolers would be cut, lifting the number denied WFP supplies to two million, Corsino said.
Nursery schools will follow in November and December -- one million youngsters will no longer get food aid, he said.
"As we head into the harsh North Korean winter, those affected will find it very difficult to cope," he said. "The tragedy is that the people most at risk stand to bear the entire burden. They are already on the edge."
North Korea's problems are of it's own making. Yes, conditions are difficult, but Kim Jong Il's decision to wall his country off from the rest of the world in the name of ideological purity is the single biggest reason North Korea cannot meet the needs of it's own people. They have brought this tragedy upon themselves. It is commendable that the countries of the West have found it within themselves to provide assistance. Until North Korea takes the necessary steps to help itself, it will continue to be a basket case and, left unchecked, will slowly starve itself to death.
