U.S. worried about distribution of possible food aid for N. Korea: State Dept

By Lee Chi-dong
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) - The U.S. government voiced concerns Tuesday about the possibility that North Korea's powerful military will hog food that Washington may deliver for hunger-stricken citizens there.
In a press briefing, State Department spokeswoman Mark Toner reiterated, however, that his government has not made any decision on whether to resume humanitarian aid for the North, which is refusing to apologize for two deadly attacks on South Korea last year.
The Barack Obama administration dispatched a team of officials and experts, led by Robert King, special envoy for North Korea's human rights, to the communist nation last month in a bid to verify Pyongyang's claim that its people urgently need food assistance.
"They're back. They're assessing. But I don't have any timeline or any decision yet," Toner said. "Assessment's one side of it. Having kind of end-use monitoring is another aspect to this. We need to make sure that it reaches the people it needs to reach, or it's intended for. As to the type of food aid, I think that's all to be decided as well."
When asked about worries that the North will use food aid for its military, he said, "I think that's one of our concerns ... that it somehow would be diverted or used for other means."
Speaking at a congressional hearing Thursday, King said rice is not an option as it can be easily diverted to the military.