Humanitarian aid needed to ease military tension
Well-fed people are rarely seen in photos and videos of North Korea.
One notable exception is its leader Kim Jong-un who is severely obese. Kim's second child, his daughter Ju-ae, who has been seen accompanying her father frequently at official events in recent months, also appears to be very well-fed. According to Radio Free Asia, North Koreans were angered to watch the plump, well-clothed third grader, comparing her with their skinny children.
Food shortages have been a chronic problem in the isolated country. Nearly half of its residents are malnourished, with one-fifth of children having stunted growth problems. And the food crisis seems to have aggravated sharply in recent years.
Last Thursday, Kim called on state-managed farms to step up their grain production and meet their goals for this year "without fail," wrapping up a four-day plenary meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea.
It was unusual for Pyongyang to hold the yearly or twice-yearly plenary session in little more than two months. At a similar meeting in December, the North identified grain production as the No. 1 task among 12 major economic priorities for 2023. Some watchers say the reclusive country could face the worst famine since the "Arduous March" of the late 1990s when 3 percent to 5 percent of its 20 million population starved to death.
Reasons vary. Some things are beyond the North's control, such as its mountainous terrain and increasingly frequent droughts and floods. Prolonged economic sanctions, though resulting from North Korea's violation of international rules, are also an external factor. The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns for nearly three years were critical blows to grain imports. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war sharply raised grain prices.
However, the food shortage is also an artificial crisis for at least two reasons.
One is military. According to a unification ministry spokesperson, if North Korea had spent the money for all its missile launches last year on food imports, it would have been able to buy more than 1 million tons of grain to cover its annual food shortage.
The other is systemic. For unknown reasons, Kim recently tightened the state's grip on "free economic activities," banning private trading of grain and limiting its distribution to government shops. Some pundits say Kim's U-turn to complete control of the economy reflects his fear of the free market and capitalism.
The situation is unlikely to get any better this year, and may become far worse.
The U.S. and South Korea will conduct joint military drills at a greater scale and frequency. North Korea vows to respond in kind, depleting its already-scarce financial resources. Both sides will blame each other for escalating tensions, as they have been doing for decades. Kim and his cronies deserve international condemnation for failing to feed people under the pretext of defending their country, a socialist regime or a modern-day dynasty. But Washington and Seoul are not entirely free from criticism if their strategy risks another humanitarian disaster.
The allies have expressed their intention to provide help ― on condition that the North returns to the dialogue table. Pyongyang has also reportedly requested aid from the U.N. World Food Programme unofficially. If past experiences are any guide, however, the sides will spend months arguing over terms and preconditions ― and thousands, if not tens of thousands, of North Korean children will die in the process.
Now is the time for Seoul to take a more positive stance. Upon his inauguration in May last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol proposed "unsparing support" to help North fight against COVID-19. Yoon should make a similar offer of food aid "without preconditions."
Yoon's North Korean "audacious initiative" policy also begins with inter-Korean exchanges between the North's mineral resources and the South's daily necessities, including food.
The U.S. should also realize that further pressuring North Korea will only drive Pyongyang closer to its archrival, China. All peace-loving people will love to see humanitarian exchanges on the inter-Korean border replacing hostile tirades and war games this year.
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