 Robert King, left, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, and South Korea’s top nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac talk at the latter’s office in Seoul, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Cho Young-ho |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, said Tuesday that he and South Korean officials shared many ideas to “make progress” regarding North Korea.
The U.S. official’s remarks sparked speculation that Washington is gearing up for the resumption of food aid to North Korea, which has been halted since March 2009.
A government official told reporters that King and senior foreign ministry officials have not discussed aid for the North, saying they mainly exchanged information regarding the food situation there.
Despite the denial, the speculation that the United States could consider resuming food aid to hasn’t stopped. This comes against the backdrop of a press report that discussions about restarting donations of food to the impoverished North were underway in Washington.
Citing an American diplomatic source, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported last week that the U.S. government has not yet decided whether humanitarian assistance to the North would resume, but discussions were taking place.
Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said that the U.S. continues to monitor the humanitarian situation in North Korea. But he said the country has no plans to send any humanitarian aid at this time.
King’s five-day trip to Seoul came days after the RFA report and Campbell’s remarks.
“It’s extremely important for the United States as we pursue our policies towards North Korea to coordinate with the South Korean government,” King told reporters after meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). “We share our analysis and we share our ideas in terms of making progress.”
After arriving in Seoul, Sunday, the U.S. envoy met civic group leaders and senior MOFAT officials. King is scheduled to have closed-door talks with Unification Minister Hyun In-ta다, Thursday, over lunch.
Although the U.S. official has not specified what North Korea issues he had discussed with officials here, those he had met in Seoul fanned the speculation that the purpose of King’s Seoul trip might be related to providing food aid to the North.
The U.S. envoy met Cho Hyun, MOFAT’s deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs, before he sat down with South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac.
A foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity that as the job title indicates, Cho is in charge of international organizational affairs, including the World Food Program (WFP).
Cho is the contact in South Korea for foreign envoys to meet and discuss issues like food aid to North Korea through the WFP, as monitoring of international assistance to the North remains a challenge, he said.
In 2008, the United States vowed to provide 500,000 tons of food aid to North Korea, including 400,000 tons through the WFP and the remaining 100,000 through non-governmental organizations.
The U.S. food aid to the North was halted in March 2009 after Pyongyang refused to allow transparent monitoring of its distribution.
Recently, there have been media reports that North Korea had requested food aid from the United States, China and other countries.
The North’s food situation is reportedly acute. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the WFP jointly released last year, North Korea needs to import an estimated 867,000 tons of crops. The team called for international food assistance for the North.
Seoul and Washington imposed additional sanctions last year on Pyongyang after North Korea sank the South Korean warship Cheonan near the maritime border in the West Sea in March. The maritime tragedy took the lives of 46 sailors.
Coupled with the regime’s poor management of the economy, sanctions reportedly have made it harder for North Korea to endure as conditions worsened.
Last year, the Tokyo Shimbun, a Japanese daily newspaper, reported Beijing vowed to send 500,000 tons of rice to Pyongyang by this January.
Citing a source, the newspaper said Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed to provide the food aid to the North during a summit with its leader Kim Jong-il last August.
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