Cold War Veterans Blog

It’s Official, Food Aid Diverted to North Korean Military

Found this interesting post on http://rokdrop.com

» by GI Korea in: North Korea

You can tell a new government is coming to power because all the lies and cover ups that composed the Roh Moo-hyun administrations Sunshine Policy are slowly coming to light:

South Korean military authorities have known since 2003, when the Roh Moo-hyun administration was inaugurated, that North Korea has transported rice supplied by the South for humanitarian purposes to frontline units of the North Korean Army. The South Korean military has admitted it found no fewer than 200 South Korean rice sacks transported to North Korean Army units on about 10 occasions to the demilitarized zone including Gangwon Province between 2003 and recently.

This is the first corroboration by the South Korean military of testimony by North Korean refugees that the food aid provided by South Korea is being diverted for military purposes. But despite their knowledge of this fact, neither the South Korean government nor military authorities protested to North Korea or asked it for an explanation, apparently for fear of provoking Pyongyang. [Chosun Ilbo]

There is not a whole lot more I can add than this than what One Free Korea has already stated, but stopping food aid would be one of the most difficult measures to leverage against the regime due to claims from critics against using food as a weapon. According to defectors interviews by the Chosun Ilbo only 7.6% of North Korean defectors in South Korea ever received food aid. Obviously very little of the food is reaching its intended target population, but I just don’t see South Korea and other donors stopping food aid despite knowing full well the vast majority of it is going to the military and the regime elites.

Well at least the South Korean government can quit fooling itself that the food aid is making a difference in North Korea.