DATE=4/28/99
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-43248
TITLE=NORTH KOREA FOOD
BYLINE=STEPHANIE MANN
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: NORTH KOREA HAS APPARENTLY RUN OUT OF FOOD FROM ITS LAST
HARVEST AND IS NOW DISTRIBUTING EDIBLE ROOTS AND BARK. THE HEAD
OF AN AMERICAN AID ORGANIZATION WHO TRAVELS REGULARLY TO NORTH
KOREA SAYS IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR TO BE
ESPECIALLY LEAN. BUT HE SAYS THE OVERALL SITUATION SEEMS BETTER
THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR. V-O-A'S STEPHANIE MANN REPORTS.
TEXT: THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD PROGRAM SAYS NORTH KOREA'S
FOOD DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM RAN OUT OF FOOD FROM THE LAST HARVEST IN
EARLY APRIL, AND THE NEXT CROPS ARE NOT EXPECTED UNTIL JUNE. IN
THE MEANWHILE, NORTH KOREA IS GIVING OUT ALTERNATIVE FOODS, SUCH
AS ROOTS, GRASSES, SEAWEED AND TREE BARK, AND THE WORLD FOOD
PROGRAM IS MAKING A NEW APPEAL FOR MORE INTERNATIONAL DONATIONS.
STEPHEN LINTON IS CHAIRMAN OF THE EUGENE BELL FOUNDATION, A SMALL
NOT-FOR-PROFIT AMERICAN ORGANIZATION THAT PROVIDES MEDICINE TO
TREAT TUBERCULOSIS IN NORTH KOREA. HE VISITS NORTH KOREA OFTEN
-- HIS MOST RECENT TRIP WAS IN MARCH. HE ONLY SPENDS A FEW DAYS
IN THE CAPITAL, PYONGYANG, AND THE REST OF THE TIME HE TRAVELS TO
HOSPITALS THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE COUNTRY.
MR. LINTON SAYS BECAUSE OF NATURAL HARVEST CYCLES, IT IS COMMON
FOR FOOD SUPPLIES TO BE LOW IN THE LATE SPRING -- THE MONTHS OF
APRIL AND MAY.
// LINTON ACT ONE //
TRADITIONALLY, KOREANS CALL THIS TIME OF YEAR "THE
BARLEY PASS," MEANING THAT IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR
BEFORE THE FIRST BARLEY HARVEST WOULD ORDINARILY BE
GATHERED IN. THE LATE SPRING IS THE TOUGHEST TIME OF
YEAR FOR NORTH KOREANS AND TRADITIONALLY FOR ALL
KOREANS. SO, IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT THE FOOD
SITUATION WOULD BE PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT AT THIS POINT.
// END ACT //
/// OPT /// MR. LINTON SAYS NORTH KOREA'S FOOD SHORTAGE IS
FURTHER AGGRAVATED BY THE SCHEDULE OF INTERNATIONAL FOOD AID.
GENERALLY, HE SAYS, APPEALS ARE MADE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE
YEAR, AND FOOD DONATIONS ARRIVE LATER IN THE CALENDAR YEAR.
// LINTON ACT TWO // /// OPT ACT ///
UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF THE INTERNATIONAL AID HAS COME
IN AROUND THE FALL HARVEST TIME, WHICH IS ALRIGHT. IT'S
JUST THAT EVEN IF YOU ONLY PRODUCE, OR ONLY HAVE ON HAND
HALF THE AMOUNT OF FOOD THAT YOU NEED PER YEAR, YOU HAVE
ALL OF THAT FOOD IN THE FALL, SO THAT IT DOESN'T
ENCOURAGE (THE) ECONOMY TO GET SUBSIDIES FROM THE
OUTSIDE DURING THE FALL PERIOD. MUCH BETTER TO HAVE IT
ARRIVE EARLY SPRING, SO THAT WHEN PEOPLE NEED IT THE
MOST, IT IS AVAILABLE.
// END ACT // /// END OPT ACT ///
MR. LINTON SAYS LAST FALL'S HARVEST IN NORTH KOREA WAS A LITTLE
BETTER THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS, SO THE FOOD SITUATION NOW IS NOT
AS DESPERATE AS IT HAD BEEN. HOWEVER, THERE IS STILL A SHORTAGE
OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZER AND HE SAYS THAT WILL
CONTINUE TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF FOOD PRODUCED.
NORTH KOREA HAS FOLLOWED A DOCTRINE OF SELF-RELIANCE IN THE PAST
BUT WAS HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON BARTER TRADE AND AID FROM THE FORMER
SOVIET BLOC. MR. LINTON SAYS AS LONG AS ECONOMIC SANCTIONS
PREVENT NORTH KOREA FROM EXPORTING TO THE OUTSIDE, THE COUNTRY
WILL NOT BE ABLE TO EARN REVENUES THAT IT COULD USE TO IMPORT
FOOD. BUT HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT NORTH KOREA IS RELUCTANT TO
CHANGE ITS SYSTEM -- EITHER TO ALTER ITS METHODS OF AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTION OR TO BUILD AN EXPORT-ORIENTED ECONOMY.
// OPT // MR. LINTON, WHO IS ALSO AN ASSOCIATE AT HARVARD
UNIVERSITY'S KOREA INSTITUTE, SAYS NORTH KOREA WILL NEVER BE ABLE
TO PRODUCE ENOUGH FOOD TO FEED ITS APPROXIMATELY 24 MILLION
PEOPLE. HE SAYS THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE ON TOO LITTLE LAND.
// LINTON ACT THREE // /// OPT ACT ///
AND NORTH KOREA IS VERY MOUNTAINOUS. THE CLIMATE IS
FAIRLY COLD. THEY JUST DON'T HAVE THE NATURAL RESOURCES
TO PRODUCE ENOUGH FOOD TO FEED THEIR OWN PEOPLE.
THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DEPEND ON AN EXPORT ECONOMY
JUST AS PEOPLE HAVE IN THE SOUTH.
// END ACT // /// END OPT ACT ///
MR. LINTON SAYS DURING HIS RECENT TRAVELS TO NORTH KOREA HE HAS
NOTICED SOME SMALL CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY FROM JUST A FEW YEARS
AGO.
// LINTON ACT FOUR //
/// OPT /// IN 1997, THERE WERE A LOT OF INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PEOPLE UNDER GREAT STRESS. WE STILL SEE
PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY HUNGRY. BUT IN GENERAL, THE NUMBERS
OF PEOPLE WHO ARE DISPLACED AS A RESULT OF THIS FAMINE
SEEM TO HAVE DROPPED. /// END OPT /// YOU SEE A LOT MORE
INFORMAL MARKETS. YOU SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE ROAD
TRAVELLING FROM ONE CENTER OF POPULATION TO THE OTHER
WITH THINGS TO SELL. THERE'S A LOT MORE INFORMAL
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY THAN THERE HAS BEEN BEFORE. THIS HAS
BEEN ON THE INCREASE.
// END ACT //
MR. LINTON SAYS THE NORTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO BE MAKING AN
ADJUSTMENT TO ALLOW FOR THE INCREASE IN INFORMAL FARMERS'
MARKETS. HE SAYS AN ARTICLE IN THE OFFICIAL WORKERS' DAILY
NEWSPAPER A FEW MONTHS AGO EXPLAINED THAT SUCH MARKETS ARE NOT
INCONSISTENT WITH NORTH KOREA'S VERSION OF SOCIALISM. MR. LINTON
SAYS THIS INFORMAL PRIVATE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY CAN BE SEEN AS THE
BEGINNING OF A MARKET ECONOMY ON A VERY SMALL SCALE. (SIGNED)
NEB/SMN/GE
28-Apr-99 11:58 AM EDT (1558 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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