Food rations in north Korea are at near-starvation
levels following 2 years of devastating floods. The government provides
100 grams per person daily (half a bowl of rice), which is 1/6 the ration
normally distributed to refugees in other crises. Even at these minimal
levels, north Korea is expected to exhaust its food supplies by this summer
and has made an urgent appeal to the international community for immediate
food aid.
- International relief agencies and
other recent visitors to north Korea such as US Representative Tony Hall
report increasingly widespread and obvious pre-famine indicators: families
eating grass, weeds and bark; orphans whose growth has been stunted by
hunger and diarrhea; and children going bald for lack of nutrition. Food
supplies have already stopped to many nurseries and kindergartens, where
many small children and babies are dying of malnutrition. The most severe
threat of mass starvation is believed to exist in the northern and northeastern
sections of the country, where relief workers have been granted access
in March. Officials from the UN? World Food Program (WFP) have just dispatched
an
assessment team to survey these areas and expect to release a report on
conditions there in the coming weeks.
- If real starvation grips north Korea this year, as virtually all international relief agencies and food experts now predict, those most at risk will be the 2.6 million children under the age of six, the elderly, hospital patients and pregnant and nursing mothers.
How the threat of north Korean famine compares with humanitarian crises in other countries
- The tragic Ethiopian famine of 1985, during which about one million people died, was the result of a 35% food deficit. The impending famine in north Korea may be several times worse, with millions of people currently facing starvation and a 55% food deficit.
- Because north Korea uses a nationwide public distribution system, steadily diminishing rations means that nearly the entire population has been weakened by slow starvation and all the food could run out at the same time.
- Contributions for food relief to north Korea are so low that the UN-WFP distributes more food in a week in the Rwanda/Zaire region than it has distributed in two years in north Korea.
The crisis in north Korea could be solved through increasing humanitarian food aid from donor governments
- Although the U.S. recently committed to contributing $25 million, this amount falls far short of the proportionate share that the U.S. has donated in other severe hunger-crisis situations. The WFP has reported that 1.3 million metric tons of food must be shipped to north Korea to prevent famine. The $25 million committed by the U.S. would purchase less than 6% of that total need, compared to the 30% of total need that the U.S. has historically donated in cases where famine has threatened lives abroad.
- Amount needed to feed 6 million of the vulnerable populations in north Korea: $95,500,000
Amount pledged by the U.S. government toward NK famine relief aid: $25,000,000
Amount spent to station 37,000 U.S. troops in south Korea: $3,000,000,000 (per year)
For more information on how you can help, contact the:
Campaign to Stop Famine in North Korea
2430 West Third St. 2nd floor Los Angeles,
CA 90057 Tel: (213) 389-6664 Fax: (213) 389-6665
E-mail: nkfamine@kysu.org