OK. I don't like this one bit...

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=6110264&cKey=1127508644000&ticker=true

UN urges N. Korea to keep taking aid for children

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations appealed to North Korea on Friday to think of its children and reverse its decision to stop accepting food aid at the end of this year.

"My heart goes out to the children, really, of North Korea," U.N. Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Jan Egeland said.

While the reclusive communist nation had made important gains in feeding its people over the past decade, 7 percent of its 22.5 million people were still starving and 37 percent remained chronically malnourished, he said.

"Our concern is they will not be able to have enough food," he said. "We are very concerned because we think this is too soon and too abrupt."

Egeland spoke to reporters a day after North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon told news agency reporters he had asked U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to end all humanitarian aid -- a term that typically includes food, medical supplies and other relief -- by the end of 2005.

Choe said he was doing so because his country's food production had improved and the United States was politicising the issue by linking aid to human rights, an allegation Washington strongly denied.


Why would a country of starving people refuse food? Do they not expect to need food next year for some reason? What would that reason be? Any ideas?

[William769]

1. Heres my take.

"Why would a country of starving people refuse food? Do they not expect to need food next year for some reason? What would that reason be? Any ideas?" Because of their leader. look what our leader has done to our less fortunate.

[oneighty]

2. Might it be

they do not need it anymore?

I wonder.

180

[NNN0LHI]

4. Assume they need it...badly n/t

[oneighty]

6. Assume nothing

where USA relationship with North Korea is involved.

We are being conned into hating the North Koreans. They are an enemy of opportunity used to justify maintaining our foothold in Asia.

180

[nonconformist]

8. 7% of it's people are starving, 37% chronically malnourished

I think it's a safe "assumption" they need the aid.

And Kim is a mad timebomb that's been all but ignored by the Bush administration.

[oneighty]

12. Yes. I am told he is a mad time bomb

Perhaps he is. I have no first hand information. Do you?

180

[tx_dem41]

9. You obviously know nothing about the government of N. Korea.

So your * hatred has now pushed you to the point where you don't see the government of N. Korea to be the tyrannical despots that they are. They care nothing about their people, yet you are willing to give them a pass because of your hatred for our government. This is definitely the ugly side of living in an echo chamber. In fact, is their a good side?

[oneighty]

11. Whoa there

I do not hate anyone including Bush and the Korean people either North or South. I was in the Korean War in 1952 and in Japan for a number of years after that and I do not hate the Japanese either.

One thing I have learned over the years is to question everything. If North And South Korea had been allowed to reunite over the years I expect things might be different today.

But I do not know. And the only thing I know about North Korea today is what I am told.

180

[Fridays Child]

3. Politicizing food aid?

I smell Bolton.

[charlie]

5. Kim's only interested in his army

This probably means he can keep them fed without strain. He's always kept rest of the populace quarantined and weak, food aid or no.

[hopein08]

7. My former poli. sci. prof told us that Kim doesn't want...

his people to feel at all obligated to or helped by any other nation. I.e., if they got food packages with the UN symbol or the US (or any other) flag or symbol, they would think of that organization as being the one that feeds them. Then they might have some allegiance to that symbol and not to the state and to Kim.

Don't forget, and this is probably very important in their decision, Kim and his top officials (and the army) are NOT STARVING. They have plenty to eat. It is the average person who is starving and they have no say in whether or not they accept food. They would probably accept it.

[RepublicanElephant]

10. kinda like dubya refusing foreign aid for katrina.

:banghead: