Serious malnutrition concerns persist in N. Korea: UN

By Kim Young-jin

Sixty-six percent of North Koreans suffer from poor food consumption amid ongoing serious concerns over malnutrition in the Stalinist state, a United Nations report showed.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program (WFP) made the assessment after a fact-finding mission to the North in October, where they visited 29 counties around the country.

The team found most people were living off a mainly carbohydrate-based diet supplemented with vegetables including foraged plants and condiments such as soy bean paste.

The North this year has asked the international community for aid to cope with food shortages compounded by torrential summer rain. Though countries such as China and Russia have stepped in to help, Seoul has yet to do so as it maintains punitive measures for Pyongyang’s two deadly provocations last year.

The report projected that the North’s staple food production would increase by 8.5 percent on the back of higher plantings. However, the country will still face a food deficit of 414,000 tons, it said, due to soaring global food and fuel prices, insufficient humanitarian aid and other factors.

It added between May and September, much of the population suffered “prolonged food deprivation” as the state’s Public Distribution System (PDS) ration of cereals fell to 200 grams or less per person per day, only one-third the minimum daily energy requirement. To deal with the shortages, it found that people resorted to collecting wild foods and relied on the North’s informal markets.

“The Mission is concerned that another year of prolonged food deprivation will have a serious impact on the health and nutrition situation of the population,” it said, recommending the provision of international aid to address the deficit of protein and fats for vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly.

It also recommended deliveries of wheat, barley, and potato seed as well as plastic sheeting to protect seedbeds.

The U.N.’s recent appeals for assistance to the North, however, have been met with a cool response amid suspicions that Pyongyang diverts aid to feed its military. Seoul also believes the food situation is not particularly worse than it has been in the recent past.

Skepticism has been further fueled by the widespread belief that the regime is stockpiling food ahead of the new year, when it has planned elaborate celebrations to observe the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il-sung. Having promised to emerge as strong country in time for the event, analysts say Pyongyang has staked its legitimacy on convincing its citizens of development.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government has taken steps to auction off baby food it previously offered to the North to help cope with flooding, an official said. Seoul had offered the food along with instant noodles and biscuits through its Red Cross branch, but never sent the shipments as Pyongyang called for cement and equipment instead.

The Red Cross has said it would auction the baby food on a state-run website, while the government has held talks with local charities on donating the rest of the aid to foreign countries.