ID :
183081
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 09:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183081
The shortlink copeid
U.N. food agency renews call for food aid to N. Korea
SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- A senior official of the U.N. food agency on Thursday pressed South Korea to give food aid to North Korea as Washington is considering sending a team on a fact-finding mission to North Korea to assess the food situation.
South Korea was one of the major donors to the North for years. But Seoul halted unconditional aid in 2008 and tightened its sanctions on the North last year in retaliation for the communist nation's two deadly attacks on the South that killed 50 South Koreans.
South Korea has since selectively approved humanitarian and medical aid to North Korea by private aid groups.
Seoul has recently come under mounting pressure from civic groups to resume food aid to the North, but it showed no sign of easing its tough stance on food aid.
On Thursday, Claudia Von Roehl, director of the World Food Program in Pyongyang, also joined the appeal for food aid. In March, her agency appealed for 430,000 tons of food to feed 6 million vulnerable North Koreans.
North Korea "has suffered a series of shocks in recent months, leaving the country highly vulnerable to a food crisis," Von Roehl said in a session at the South Korean parliament.
She said 6 million people are in urgent need of international food assistance, noting child malnutrition in the North will have long-term implications.
"For less than 20 cents a day, a child in the (North) can receive what he needs to get a chance to develop normally," she said.
The U.N. agency will increase the number of international staff up to 60 and deploy Korean speakers as part of its moves to ensure the food reaches those in need, she said.
There has been widespread speculation that the North could divert outside food aid to its elite and military, a key backbone of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's rule.
Her appeal came a day after South Korean Christians delivered unauthorized food shipments to North Korea.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Wednesday that the United States is considering sending Robert King, envoy for North Korean human rights, to Pyongyang to assess the food situation.
"We continue to assess the need for food assistance to North Korea and we're looking at a possible trip. But again, no firm dates," Toner said.
North Korea has relied heavily on international handouts since a massive famine hit the country in the mid-1990s.
South Korea was one of the major donors to the North for years. But Seoul halted unconditional aid in 2008 and tightened its sanctions on the North last year in retaliation for the communist nation's two deadly attacks on the South that killed 50 South Koreans.
South Korea has since selectively approved humanitarian and medical aid to North Korea by private aid groups.
Seoul has recently come under mounting pressure from civic groups to resume food aid to the North, but it showed no sign of easing its tough stance on food aid.
On Thursday, Claudia Von Roehl, director of the World Food Program in Pyongyang, also joined the appeal for food aid. In March, her agency appealed for 430,000 tons of food to feed 6 million vulnerable North Koreans.
North Korea "has suffered a series of shocks in recent months, leaving the country highly vulnerable to a food crisis," Von Roehl said in a session at the South Korean parliament.
She said 6 million people are in urgent need of international food assistance, noting child malnutrition in the North will have long-term implications.
"For less than 20 cents a day, a child in the (North) can receive what he needs to get a chance to develop normally," she said.
The U.N. agency will increase the number of international staff up to 60 and deploy Korean speakers as part of its moves to ensure the food reaches those in need, she said.
There has been widespread speculation that the North could divert outside food aid to its elite and military, a key backbone of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's rule.
Her appeal came a day after South Korean Christians delivered unauthorized food shipments to North Korea.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Wednesday that the United States is considering sending Robert King, envoy for North Korean human rights, to Pyongyang to assess the food situation.
"We continue to assess the need for food assistance to North Korea and we're looking at a possible trip. But again, no firm dates," Toner said.
North Korea has relied heavily on international handouts since a massive famine hit the country in the mid-1990s.
