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South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks with World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley at the Blue House on May 13. (provided by the Blue House)
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S. Korean president reaffirms commitment to humanitarian aid despite recent missile launches
South Korean President Moon Jae-in expressed an active interest in food aid to North Korea during a meeting with David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP). The South Korean government is cooperating closely with the WFP on the issue. Meeting with Beasley on the afternoon of May 13, Moon said, “We will not forget the help we received from the World Food Programme when we were struggling in the past, and we will actively provide not only humanitarian support to North Korea but whatever help is needed from us in the international community.” His remarks reaffirmed a commitment to considering food aid to North Korea in spite of its recent short-range missile launches. Indeed, he was strongly committed enough to the matter to alter the original schedule for the day – which had Beasley meeting with Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong – and meet Beasley in person, concluding that it would be “best to be briefed personally.” Reporting on the meeting later that day, Blue House Spokesperson Ko Min-jung said, “Mr. Beasley explained to President Moon about a report on the findings of a recent joint WFP and FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] investigation on the food situation in North Korea, and expressed concerns that the daily rations within North Korea have been estimated to be a seriously low level.” “Mr. Beasley raised the need for emergency humanitarian assistance to vulnerable groups in North Korea, which President Moon agreed with,” she added. During the meeting, President Moon was reported as telling Beasley that US President Donald Trump had “shared his full support for humanitarian food aid to North Korea,” while Beasley shared various ideas regarding food aid in North Korea. The meeting, which began at 5:30 pm that day and lasted for approximately one hour, was described as including diverse and in-depth discussions. Beasley also met earlier with Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-chul. Ahead of his meeting with Beasley at the Central Government Complex in Seoul that afternoon, Kim said he had “examined the report on the North Korean food situation in detail.” “I agree with the WFP’s position that humanitarianism should be kept separate from politics,” he also said. Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Kim, Beasley said he was “very concerned” about the food situation in North Korea and looked forward to finding a solution. He also stressed that the WFP/FAO “Joint Rapid Food Security Assessment” published for North Korea earlier this month was based on an objective study. In the report, the WFP described the North Korean food situation as the worst in the past 10 years, with a shortfall of 1.36 million tons of food even when North Korea’s planned 2019 imports were factored out. In connection with food aid to North Korea, Kim Yeon-chul planned to meet at the inter-Korean talks headquarters on the afternoon of May 14 with representatives from private groups including the Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea, the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, and the Korean Conference of Religions for Peace. On May 15, he plans to hold a luncheon and talk with policy advisory committee members from the Ministry of Unification’s humanitarian cooperation subcommittee to hear opinions on humanitarian assistance to the North. By Lee Wan and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporters Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
