US announces deal to send 500,000 tons of food to NKorea
 

AP


WASHINGTON - The United States said Friday it has reached a deal with North Korea to provide 500,000 metric tons of food aid over the coming year to the closed-off communist nation.

The Bush administration says the aid is unrelated to its nuclear disarmament deal with Pyongyang, although both have involved an unusual intensity of U.S. diplomacy with a nation President Bush once included as part of a rhetorical "axis of evil."

The State Department announced the food agreement after weeks of talks over how the aid would be distributed. The United States wants assurances the food won't be diverted or used improperly by the government of Kim Jong Il.

"The two sides have agreed on terms for a substantial improvement in monitoring and access in order to allow for confirmation of receipt by the intended recipients," according to a statement from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The U.S. said it does not know exactly how much the deal will cost, because prices will depend on such variables as the costs of food and shipping, both of which are rising fast.

Pyongyang "has been open in saying it faces a major shortage in food supplies," White House press secretary Dana Perino said earlier this week.

"The president thinks that the government is certainly diverting food to the military and not giving it to the people," she said. "But outside of politics, the president's heart hurts when he knows that people are starving, and especially because — especially for children, who are maybe trying to go to school."

The North's food situation has worsened this year due to last year's devastating floods that destroyed more than 11 percent of the country's crops.

The country has resorted to international assistance to feed its 23 million people since the mid-1990s due to natural disasters and mismanagement. The U.N. has warned that North Korea urgently needs outside aid to avert a worse humanitarian disaster.

South Korea's foreign minister said Thursday his government is also willing to talk with North Korea about food aid.

Relations between the two Koreas worsened after South Korea's new conservative government was inaugurated in February with a pledge to take a tougher line on the North, which subsequently said it would stop seeking help from the South, previously a key donor.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said his country "intends to hold direct talks with North Korea if there is such an opportunity," according to his ministry. Yu did not elaborate.

However, ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said the South Korean government will maintain its position that it will provide aid to North Korea only if the North requests it.

David,...
 

Just what do We get for MY/YOUR/OUR MONEY,...from This: "Deal"?

Think such a reasonable enough question. Don't you?

Neil

We get to bolster their troop's food supply.

David,...
 

Guess that our EXCEPTIONALLY GENEROUS RULERS of whatever BENT
will just never learn?

But then, and since not actually their money in the first place anyway,.......
why-in-the-hell shouldn't they just piss-it-away as usual?

And besides, in political eyes the 500,000 Metric Tons of food represents
a mere pittance,...or just like the other current Disaster Relief Aid being
stupidly forced upon our OTHER GREAT FRIENDS in Burma, or whatever
else called nowadays. Don't both enemies have wealthy schnooks any closer?

Regardless, I figure that it won't be long before similarly & stupidly America's:
"Feel Good" politicians send tonnage of Food & Aid to Iran & Syria, also?
Hey,...even avowed terrorists & murderers have to eat also. Don't they?

Neil

Comments:
 

“The United States wants assurances the food won't be diverted or used improperly by the government of Kim Jong Il.”

Not unlike wanting assurances that the pigs will grow wings so that they can beat the flies to the garbage. The DPRK doesn’t show true didly to anyone, and that that is shown is all pure theater, hokum n’ smoke.


“The president thinks that the government is certainly diverting food to the military and not giving it to the people.”

Sort off, almost, but actually the Generals get their cut first and a significant amount of DPRK Army bound food and clothing items get to the North Koran black market. In exchange for a big cut of the action, the Generals slobber all over Kim Jong Ill and pledge eternal loyalty, forever, etc. Failure at proper slobbering means instant ‘poofing’ and a new General is given the opportunity to slobber properly.


“The country has resorted to international assistance to feed its 23 million people since the mid-1990s due to natural disasters and mismanagement.”

Edit: After ‘due to’, read “management induced erosion disasters”. Easy equation there, the collectives fail due to the usual shabby corruption and the Party Bubbas and Generals absconding with transport equipment for their own black market operations. Net of all that is that everyone gets a subsistence garden patch going on the hillsides and those, in turn, wash into the rivers at first rain. Maybe the rivers should be called ‘The People’s Patch Rivers’ these days.

At this time of year all the ‘loyal’ are supposed to turn out and go pick wild ginseng ‘for the people’. No such thing as ‘not loyal’ so I guess that means everyone picks ginseng.
In this instance ‘for the people’ means Kim Jong Ill’s private hard currency stash, and no cuts allowed, period. Nobody messes with Kim’s private stash money, nope.

Scamp

We can give the North Korean Army food, but no decent GI Bill for our troops.

Bush and his cohorts are a true disgrace.

Larry

I agree Larry...
 

but in this case, aren't his cohorts our new Democrat Congress? This kind of thing is not an executive order but had to pass congress. Don't think GW and Cheney thought this one up. Just wait until we get even a kinder more gentler White House and Congress....as for what Neil said...what do we get? Nada...as always. When will we understand that it's all these Bastards that need to go.

Pack

If you can't make friends...buy them.

Doc,...
 

Even there Doc, America has pretty-much displayed an extremely naive & ignorant
(quite bipartisan also) type of foreign policies,...often appreciated by our many enemies.

After about 60 years, fools quite stupidly still haven't yet learned obvious that can't:
"Buy Friends" with MY/YOUR/OUR and/or U.S. Taxpayer Monies. Such doesn't exactly
portray about 60 years worth of political leaders (bipartisanly),...as: "Rocket Scientists"!!!

Typically pompous & all-knowing lords daily prove themselves QUITE THE OPPOSITE.
Fanatical Dem Ideologues insanely insisting upon: "Exit Strategies" instead of VICTORY
against our avowed would be killers & annihilators, especially proves the point that
many in authority not actually dealing with: "Full Decks" (both mentally & honestly).


Neil

Our government sucks from one end to the other, Repubs and Dems.

Larry