Thread: Millions starving in North Korea - UN

Millions starving in North Korea - UN
From correspondents in Beijing, China
July 01, 2009 05:54pm

NORTH Koreans, especially children, are facing a "critical" food situation as donations have dried up amid the country's nuclear standoff with the world, the UN's food aid agency said today.

Torben Due, the World Food Programme's country representative in North Korea, said Pyongyang had told the agency to scale back its operations in the impoverished country, without giving clear reasons.

"It is a very serious problem for the population in (North Korea) as they do not have enough to eat,'' Mr Due said.

He said the WFP, which launched an emergency operation in North Korea late last year amid a deteriorating food outlook, has had to pare back its goal of reaching 6.2m of the hungry, and is now targeting just 2.27m.

"For adults, it doesn't mean a lot if you live for a few months on a diet of cereals and vegetables, but for children, it is critical,'' he said.

"We see an increase in the number of children being admitted to hospitals with severe malnutrition,'' he added, while stressing that observation was based on anecdotal evidence and could not yet be quantified or verified.

Due said a study by the WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organisation last year estimated nearly nine million North Koreans -- more than a third of the country's 24 million people -- require food aid.

A long-running international standoff over North Korea's nuclear programmes escalated on May 25 when Pyongyang carried out its second nuclear test, followed by further missile launches, which resulted in new UN sanctions.

news.com.au

I wonder what the average North Korean person is thinking. Are they so brainwashed to actually believe their "dear leader" is helping them fight off the evil West and those never-to-be-trusted Japanese? I'm hoping they are smart enough because then these bad conditions could cause revolt.

They'd be slaughtered if they tried to revolt.

Are they so brainwashed to actually believe their "dear leader" is helping them fight off the evil West and those never-to-be-trusted Japanese?

that's the way it appears

some do leave, including the prison officers at the gulug jails. but they can't talk openly to friends even cos they'll snitch on them

well technically the west is responsible for starving them, like they were for Iraq

the latest rethoric from the west is not going to help those poor people,

we should be ashamed,

How is the west 'technically' to blame? did we cause them to be a totalitarian communist state with the most laughable personality cult since Stalin? Perhaps if they spent a bit less on their prestigious, but ultimately self destructive arms budget they would be able to import some food from the evil west.

It's really quite disturbing that people in this age of tecchnology can be coerced into believing that this is what you have got, and it's better than the rest.
I imagine than the majority of North Koreans think that what they have is all that the rest have.
In these days of modern technology, shouldn't a more advanced country be able to somehow beam into the country some sort of comparison between the two?

Originally Posted by crazy dog

Perhaps if they spent a bit less on their prestigious, but ultimately self destructive arms budget they would be able to import some food from the evil west.

The same could be said for many western countries...

Agreed that if the North Korean populace were to rise up in revolt against Kim Yung Il, they would be slaughtered... Much like many fear is happening in Iran today...

Originally Posted by tuktukdriver

I wonder what the average North Korean person is thinking. Are they so brainwashed to actually believe their "dear leader" is helping them fight off the evil West and those never-to-be-trusted Japanese? I'm hoping they are smart enough because then these bad conditions could cause revolt.

Logically, we can always wonder why the population allows such regimes to retain supreme power for decades over decades. We've had historic examples as well as contemporary ones to why these type of states exist. Being that humans have instinctively yearned for basic freedoms and such, I can't believe that the good folks of NK have fallen under the mass hypnosis, even though social engineering principles are not difficult to promote and kept steadfast. Since the ratio of civilian to soldier is rather tight {as it is through most police states}, I reckon the ideal of a mass popular revolt would be out of the question. Ever notice that one could never find a similiar emotional thread throughout the military ranks? Why is this? A cultural base that, in largess, is military-centred woud certainly have produced a military resistence or attempted military coup{s} a time or three. Perhaps, we're not getting the full picture.

I wonder at what age Butterflys mother stopped using his head for a door stop?

What ever it was,, it was to damn late.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

well technically the west is responsible for starving them, like they were for Iraq

the latest rethoric from the west is not going to help those poor people,

we should be ashamed,

Might you be suggesting a unilateral and international agreement? Such as a complete and encompassing 'U.N.' invasion? After that.....it seems to be academic. Naturally, China plays some of the strings. One could use a comparative note as to Burma. Outside of the handful of well entrenched rebels groups {for decades}, the juntas have a firm hold on the majority population. Why is this....?? Should unified UN forces intervene in Mynamar as well?

The UN needs to be revamped into some international police force and go after brutal dictators for humanitarian reason. I am not even talking Democracy here.

basically countries like Burma and NK should be dealt with brutally. If China is not happy, we will stop delivering them nuke technology or simply ban those fucks from the International community, that should teach them about losing face.

^ Yeah, right... In a perfect world, but who's to say which dogma is valid... And the big question is, who's going to pay for it???

the dogma is simple, you kill or starve your own people and create humanitarian disasters and your ass is toast

not that expensive actually, don't need to have an invasion, target bombing against the palace and that's it, eventually a few special ops to take care of business.

We can do it, except we are too "conveniently" lazy to do it

Originally Posted by Muadib

Originally Posted by crazy dog

Perhaps if they spent a bit less on their prestigious, but ultimately self destructive arms budget they would be able to import some food from the evil west.

The same could be said for many western countries...

North Korea is by far the most militarized country regarded it's quite tiny size.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

well technically the west is responsible for starving them, like they were for Iraq

the latest rethoric from the west is not going to help those poor people,

we should be ashamed,

How is the West to blame, exactly, when the millions in humanitarian aid, in food, medicines, and money are being diverted by the DPRK's regime into their own pockets, and to feed their own elite -- trust me, the Elite ruling class or the military isn't starving.

South Korea regularly sends humanitarian aid, food, and money to North Korea as part of their humanitarian support - the people see little of it.

Please explain how the West is to blame.

^ Buttfly makes doozy posts but that one takes the crackerjack prize.

Originally Posted by noelbino

It's really quite disturbing that people in this age of technology can be coerced into believing that this is what you have got, and it's better than the rest.

As Dr Bob noted, those folks would be executed for listening to "propaganda". Ya, these folks cannot even feed themselves, but every home has a laptop, TV and radio.

Originally Posted by Rural Surin

Should unified UN forces intervene in Myanmar as well?

Nah, panama hat is helping them via his business there. The Burmese are doing fine.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

not that expensive actually, don't need to have an invasion, target bombing against the palace and that's it, eventually a few special ops to take care of business.
We can do it, except we are too "conveniently" lazy to do it

Boy, that's two crackerjack prizes for you in one thread. Here's the code ring password for the West's inability to take action, Buttfly: China.

how is the West to blame ? because we keep putting their leader in a corner because "we don't like him"

if we weren't so stupid, we wouldn't feed his paranoia by making silly statements like "raging a financial war" on NK or "isolating" them internationally, it simply doesn't work

We did the same with Cuba and that didn't work

We did the same with Iraq and that didn't work

U.S. has no plan to provide food aid to DPRK
Source: Xinhua
July 02, 2009

The United States will not provide the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) with food assistance before Pyongyang assures proper distribution of American aid, the State Department said Wednesday.

"We currently have no plans to provide additional food aid to North Korea and any additional food would have to have assurances that it would be appropriately used," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.

However, Kelly noted that "we remain very concerned about the well-being of the North Korean people. ... we are very concerned because we need to have an adequate program management in place, monitoring and access provisions and we don't have that right now."

About two months ago, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the United States has no interest to offer economic aid to the DPRK.

"We have absolutely no interest and no willingness on the part of this administration to give them any economic aid at all," Clinton told a hearing on the fiscal year 2009 war supplement held by the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 30.

Before Clinton made the remarks, the DPRK reportedly informed Washington that it no longer wished to receive American food assistance, and asked U.S. non-governmental organizations working in the DPRK to distribute food assistance to leave the country.

english.people.com.cn

Originally Posted by Butterfly

The UN needs to be revamped into some international police force and go after brutal dictators for humanitarian reason. I am not even talking Democracy here.

basically countries like Burma and NK should be dealt with brutally. If China is not happy, we will stop delivering them nuke technology or simply ban those fucks from the International community, that should teach them about losing face.

Actually, the U.N. has been revamped. Under the puppetry strings of the US. Most don't know whom the real bad guy is here.

Butterfly said but TD can't handle keeping a quote on the quick reply message when you change pages...so here I go...
Going in and wiping out these junta's etc...If China doesn't like it then chuck em' out of the international community....ERRRRRR Hello they should've never been allowed in in the first place...millions of Chinese are persecuted by their tyrannical government...Tibetans have almost been completely wiped out in their own country and are now the minority...7-9million chinese in Tibet...maybe 5-6million Tibetans...Chinese have all the best land, jobs, and opportunities....
Not to mention china's human rights record..tiannamen square fiasco...Massacre.

Lest we forget...and the West turns a blind eye...why for MONEY.....

Originally Posted by Rural Surin

Actually, the U.N. has been revamped. Under the puppetry strings of the US. Most don't know whom the real bad guy is here.

Agreed Rural mate...IMF Hq is in the US..World bank is in the US...UN Hq....in the US...they hold all the cards and do nothing that doesn't suit them...

US democracy....controlled by lobbyists and companies..farsical's not even close.

Originally Posted by goostewart

Koreans would follow anyone who stood up and said they were a leader. It is a nation of followers, not thinkers. As individuals they are fantastic, but the group dynamic is all about following and never about free thought.

Sounds just like Thailand.....