Summary
The Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK or North Korea) has an estimated 23 million inhabitants in
a territory of 120,540 km=B2 covering the northern part of the Korean Peninsula
between the East Sea (Sea of Japan) and the Yellow Sea, bordering South
Korea, China and Russia. Its political, economic and social systems are
based on the "juche" ideology of self-reliance and a centralised,
socialist state. The political situation remains stable, with the current
regime firmly in place, but, on the economic and social front, North Korea
is facing major difficulties and now wants to address these in order to
improve the living conditions of its population (see basic data in Annex).
To alleviate the humanitarian consequences of the economic crisis in the
DPRK, the European Commission, Member States and other donors have in recent
years been providing humanitarian assistance, food aid and support for
agricultural rehabilitation. However, emergency aid needs to be combined
with long term development assistance programmes in order to enable North
Korea to help itself. Having both humanitarian aid and development assistance
at its disposal, the Community is well placed to help the DPRK in the crucial
early stages of sustainable development.
Thus, the Community's development co-operation with North Korea will focus on a reversal of the current sharp decline in the welfare of the population. Reducing poverty implies addressing a range of economic, political, social, environmental and institutional shortcomings. Promoting equitable growth requires investment in social and human development and infrastructure. Moreover, the integration of the DPRK into the world economy is a necessary condition for the economic and social development. The EC-DPRK Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for 2001-2004 sets out the strategic framework and objectives for technical assistance in the DPRK for the next 4 years, following the EU approach towards the Korean Peninsula and the DPRK set out in the Council Conclusions of 9 October and 20 November and the Community's development cooperation objectives (art. 177 EC Treaties, ALA Regulation 443/92 and the EC Development Policy Communication).
While the international community is providing considerable assistance to North Korea already, this is directed mainly at overcoming immediate humanitarian problems. Food security and sustainable rural development assistance (including reforestation) should continue to reduce the necessity of food aid and ensure that the considerable environmental damage caused by the struggle for food and heat is repaired.
But, the DPRK needs to build for the future and has thus expressed an interest in technical assistance from the Community and other donors. The Commission's priorities are concentrated on a limited number of areas, mainly
i) institutional support and capacity building to assist the DPRK with the necessary capacity to work out and implement effective development policies in the coming years. It implies the need to strengthen the capacity of key institutions and the relevant human resources in order to define a path of economic development, implement poverty reduction policies, and develop relations with the international community;
ii) sustainable management and use of natural resources (including access to sustainable energy services) to support North Korea's social and economic revival, through the transfer of basic management skills;
iii) reliable and sustainable transport sector within an integrated approach to support the DPRK in developing policies to modernise and manage the sector.
As a complement to food security activities, sustainable rural development actions could be foreseen to support the necessary increase in agriculture production, to avoid continuous soil erosion and to improve farm and forestry management in the DPRK. These priority needs emerged from the conclusions of the fact finding mission sent to North Korea in February 2001 to assess technical assistance needs and the discussions at a donor co-ordination meeting organised in Brussels on the 16 March 2001. In particular basic training is needed urgently in key ministries where understanding of international finance/trade and economic policymaking needs to be disseminated as well as to help North Korea integrate into the world economy. Moreover, it is desirable to help North Korea acquire a basic capability to manage the key infrastructural systems of energy and transport in order to achieve immediate savings in energy inputs, ensure sustainable energy and transport services and thus, support North Korea's long-run social and economic development.
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