By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Some of the rice given to North Korea by South Korea for humanitarian purposes has been funneled into the North Korean military units on the front lines, according to a military source Thursday. But Seoul has never raised the issue with Pyongyang.
``Since late 2006, we have noticed bags of rice clearly marked with South Korea's Red Cross logo being unloaded from trucks in North Korean military camps and some of them were left in a stacked there,'' an official said on condition of anonymity.
The bags, which contained rice, were also used for North Korea's military encampment. So far some 400 rice bags reportedly ended up in the North Korean military bases.
North Korean defectors have often said rice provided to the North by the South leaked to the military. Some even said the good quality rice goes to the military first.
South Korean military authorities confirmed the North Korean military's diversion of the rice aid and reported it to a relevant government office.
However, the Seoul government and military authorities never took up the issue with Pyongyang during their meetings such as the inter-Korean ministerial or general-level talks.
``We didn't raise the issue during inter-Korean military talks because it is not a matter for the Defense Ministry,'' another official said. ``We already notified a relevant government office on the matter.''
The South sent 2.7 million tons of rice and 200,000 tons of corn to the North from 1995 to 2007. For this year, Seoul set 500,000 tons of rice for humanitarian aid to the North.
Meanwhile, Yoo Chong-ha, former foreign minister, who advises President-elect Lee Myung-bak on foreign affairs matters, said Wednesday that the incoming government's aid to the North will depend on how much North Korea cooperates with regard to the returning back to their homeland of South Koreans abducted to the North.
yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr
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