Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Summary

The Landmine Update is the International Campaign to Ban Landmines’ quarterly newsletter. This edition is followed by a calendar of upcoming events and list of available new resources. To date, 142 countries have signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and 122 have ratified it. The most recent accession is Nigeria (27 September) and the most recent ratification is Algeria (9 October).

Farm representatives: Mr Kim Yong O, president
Cesvi staff: Davide Mariani, Kim Myong Sik

SEOUL, Dec 28, 2001 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Korean Sharing Movement (KSM) said Friday it will donate 50,000 sets of winter clothes worth 632, 000 U.S. dollars to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The donation will be shipped to the flood-stricken Kangwon Province in the DPRK Saturday morning.

Copyright 2001 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

Copyright (c) 2001 Comtex News Network
Received by NewsEdge Insight: 12/28/2001 04:44:32

The European Commission has taken a decision to allocate euro 1.89 million for essential health actions in North Korea. The funds will be used to procure and distribute medical kits to more than 1,700 health institutions in the country and to re-launch the production of intravenous fluids in five hospitals. North Korea's continuing humanitarian crisis, which is linked to structural economic deficiencies, has had a major impact on the health of the population.

Farm representatives: Mr Kim Mun Sop, president
Cesvi staff: Federico Paoli, Kim Myong Sik

The State Department announced December 19 that the United States will donate 105,000 metric tons of food to the World Food Program to aid the people of North Korea. This brings total U.S. food aid to North Korea since 1995 to 1.8 million metric tons, valued at $591 million.

Following is the text of the announcement:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
December 19, 2001

Farm representatives: Mr Kim Kun Su, chief engineer
Cesvi staff: Federico Paoli, Kim Myong Sik

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2001- The Agriculture Department today announced that the U.S. government will provide 105,000 metric tons of U.S. food commodities in response to a World Food Program request for continued donations for emergency feeding operations in North Korea. These commodities will be donated under USDA's Section 416(b) authority.

The donated commodities will include 49,910 metric tons of U.S.

Rome, December 2001
Highlights

Latest information indicates a slightly larger global cereal output in 2001, of 1 870 million tonnes (including rice in milled terms). However, even at this level, production would still be less than the anticipated utilization requirements in 2001/02, leading to a significant draw-down of cereal stocks.

While Afghanistan currently faces a grave food supply situation, food emergencies persist in many other countries (see box on page 6).

(A) West and Central Asia: (1) Regional overview, (2) Afghanistan, (3) Pakistan, (4) Iran, (5) Tajikistan
(1) Regional overview

From Federation News 26/01

Power of humanity

Farm representatives: Mr Choe Ji Hyon, president
Cesvi staff: Davide Mariani, Kim Myong Sik

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea welcomed on Monday the new United Nations appeal for $258 million in food aid and said it hoped the world would continue the donations which feed a third of the impoverished communist state's 23 million people.

"The U.N.'s appeal for humanitarian aid is a manifestation of the international community's concern for the DPRK for which it feels thankful," said North Korean Foreign Ministry statement carried on the Korea Central News Agency.

DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name -- the Democratic People's Republic …

CHILDREN IN DPRK STILL IN GREAT NEED OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

• UNICEF appeals for US$ 10.37 million in 2002
• Severe risk of child deaths and malnutrition if health care and clean water not addressed along with food deficit
• Only one-third of Emergency Appeal requirements funded in 2001
• Flood damage in Kangwon province

1. EMERGENCY OVERVIEW AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

New UNICEF DPRK Appeal for 2002

Historique

The 2002 CAP: A New Year of Humanitarian Programmes. WHO and other UN agencies have finalized the 18 Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeals for the year 2002, focusing on the vital survival needs of estimated 44 million vulnerable caught in humanitarian crises. Total requirements amount to over US$ 2.5 billion, of which WHO needs some 80 million for essential public health interventions.

No.

A top World Health Organization (WHO) official recently disclosed how critical the spread of contagious diseases is in North Korea when she revealed, "North Koreans infected with malaria number 300,000." WHO Secretary General Bruntland made the disclosure in a press conference she held in Seoul following a North Korea tour during which she opened the permanent WHO mission in Pyongyang.

"In June communicable diseases raged in Hamgyong and Yanggang provinces of the North, causing a sharp rise in the number of graves in public cemeteries.