DATE=8/31/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=N. KOREA FOOD (L-ONLY) NUMBER=2-253282 BYLINE=HYUN-SUNG KHANG DATELINE=SEOUL INTERNET=YES CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: A South Korean relief group says some three and one-half million North Koreans may have died of starvation and related illnesses since 1995. The organization "Good Friends" also says hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have fled into China to avoid starvation. But as Hyun-Sung Khang reports from the South Korean capital, Seoul, the mortality figure is dramatically higher than estimates made by the South Korean government TEXT: Reliable figures are notoriously difficult to obtain from reclusive North Korea, and so the full impact of successive years of famine has been almost impossible to gauge from the outside world. The "Good Friends" organization says it reached the estimate of three and one half million deaths through interviews with North Korean refugees who have fled into China in recent years. These refugees have been forced across the border by the desperate food shortages in North Korea. "Good Friends" estimates that over seventy five percent of the refugees are women. The mortality figure produced by the civic group differs dramatically from a recent estimate published by the South Korean government. The National Statistical office in Seoul says it estimates that around 270-thousand people have starved to death, in the last four years in the North. But the Buddhist Monk, Pomnyon who heads the "Good Friends" group, disputes that figure: /// ACT POMNYON /// I think that the government's misjudgment that only 200-thousand to 300-thousand people have died in North Korea of hunger is the main reason why not enough aid has been sent. If people knew over three million of our people, our neighbors, were starving, our policy towards the North would change. /// OPT /// In other words, the biggest agenda of this country is not recovering from the economic crisis, but is saving our people from starvation. If the policy changes, I see no problem in sending more aid. /// END /// /// END ACTUALITY /// North Korea has suffered a succession of natural disasters -- made worse by an inefficient agricultural system. In recent years, the North has been heavily dependent on international aid and although the food situation is believed to have improved recently, the "Good Friends" warns that malnutrition is still severe and could worsen if outside aid is cut off. NEB/HSK/FC/PLM 31-Aug-1999 03:13 AM EDT (31-Aug-1999 0713 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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