 North Korea Ñ Neutrons or nutrition?
United Nations Ñ ItÕs a morbid version of the old guns versus butter debate. Or perhaps ÒDear LeaderÓ Kim Jong-il is telling his minions Òlet them eat roots and grass.Ó The humanitarian bottom line remains a wrenching reality for the twenty-two million people of North Korea Ñ food shortages are getting worse while the communist regime in Pyongyang pursues an expanded nuclear weapons program with single minded determination.
UN food and relief sources fear that North KoreaÕs eight-year famine continues to worsen. Many officials candidly admit that the food crisis is not just the fault of bad weather but of rife economic mismanagement! Well, well.
The UNÕs World Food Programme (WFP) has slated $200 million in aid to feed approximately one quarter of North KoreaÕs 22 million people. Yet the food donors, the USA, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union among them are less than impressed that while the humanitarian emergency expands, the rush to a wider nuclear capability continues apace.
And many relief coordinators readily concede that even what food does get into the northern reaches of the peninsula, is often routed to military units or ÒreliableÓ comrades in the population. The selective famine food distribution sadly evokes the grim horrors of Ethiopia in the 1980Õs where the regime used the same strategy; humanitarian supplies went to friendly provinces and was held back from unreliable regions.
Naturally when one connects the lines between the embryonic nuclear program and what may be less than politely called, political blackmail, Pyongyang does hold some cards. Recently both Russia and Communist China warned their erstwhile comrades in the quaintly titled Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea to foreswear their nuclear program. Vladimir Putin and Jiang Zemin fear that chaos or conflict from Comrade Kim will spillover into either the Chinese Mainland or Far Eastern Russia.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a Vienna based UN Agency, has demanded that North Korea allow inspections of its recently renewed nuclear program. For the record, IAEA which was tasked with the mission in the early 1990Õs, was then directed by Hans Blix of recent fame in Iraq.
Viewing North KoreaÕs continuing military threat to democratic South Korea balanced by the longstanding US security commitment to SeoulÕs government, the danger posed by PyongyangÕs nuclear proliferation becomes particularly acute.
The ill-fated 1994 Framework Agreement was supposed to open up North KoreaÕs suspect nuclear sites in exchange for fuel oil, light nuclear reactors, and inspections. Yet the Clinton AdministrationÕs clumsy mishandling of the original 1993 standoff led to this dangerous diplomatic deal allowing Pyongyang the extra time to develop nuclear weapons. As to what they have built since remains debatable, but the IAEAÕs inspectors have not been there to watch them. In the meantime, Pyongyang has thumbed its nose at the USA, Japan, and South Korea.
PyongyangÕs pursuit of the nuclear genie has caused a parallel crisis among food donors who rightly ask, why feed a land whose ruler is recklessly pursuing nuclear proliferation at the obvious expense of his people.
During 2002, according to the WFP, the USA provided 254 thousand metric tons of food while South Korea added an additional 100 thousand. Presently, WFP warns that 45% of North Korean children under five are chronically malnourished. Overall the WFP helps 4.5 million people.
Though Bush Administration officials have not tied continued famine relief aid to political cooperation over North KoreaÕs nuclear program Ñ Washington, Tokyo and Seoul should take a pro-active stance. Namely, an increase in famine aid to North Korea coupled with clear linkage to PyongyangÕs transparency on the food distribution as well as an adherence to its legal obligations under the 1994 Framework agreement Ñ namely coming clean on the nukes.
While the Kim-Jong-il regime will find my recommendations most amusing, we then come to the next point. Will Kim surrender his nukes for food and fuel? Not likely. But military figures in his regime may, as to avoid the dangerous scenario of Kim taking his country into a Viking funeral. Hopefully patriotic military officers will make the right choice between neutrons and nutrition.
John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense
issues. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com.
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