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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