Greg F.

Try learning SOMETHING about what you are talking about before jumping on the US.



"North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and shortages of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. Despite an increased harvest in 2005 because of more stable weather conditions, fertilizer assistance from South Korea, and an extraordinary mobilization of the population to help with agricultural production, the nation has suffered its 11th year of food shortages because of on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and chronic shortages of tractors and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape mass starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2004, the regime formalized an arrangement whereby private "farmers markets" were allowed to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the regime reversed some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. In December 2005, the regime confirmed that it intended to carry out earlier threats to terminate all international humanitarian assistance operations in the DPRK (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and to restrict the activities of international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations. "






Famine Kills up to 3.5 million in the North

North Korea is so badly run that there is insufficient food for many of the population and starvation has been commonplace during the last ten years. Noland, Robinson and Wang in their study stated that "North Korea is now into its eighth year of economic decline. It has been facing food shortages at least since the early 1990s, and is experiencing a famine of unknown severity. US Congressional staffers who visited the country concluded that from 1995 to 1998 between 900,000 and 2.4 million people had died from starvation or hunger-related illnesses with deaths peaking in 1997 (Kirk 1998). Non-governmental organizations, extrapolating from interviews with refugees in China and observations on the ground, have produced estimates of famine-related deaths on the order of 2.8-3.5 million."

"As the UN Commission on Human Rights discusses the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Amnesty International today expressed its concerns about continuing serious human rights violations in the country and the lack of effective action to reduce widespread malnutrition among the population.

Amnesty International's long-standing concerns about human rights violations in North Korea include the use of torture and the death penalty, arbitrary detention and imprisonment, inhumane prison conditions and the near-total suppression of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and movement.

While these concerns are long-standing, in recent years many human rights abuses in North Korea have been linked directly or indirectly to the famine and acute food shortages which have affected the country since the mid-1990s. These have led to widespread malnutrition among the population and to the movement of hundreds of thousands of people in search of food - some across the border with China - many of whom have become the victims of human rights violations as a result of their search for food and survival.

In this context, Amnesty International believes that guaranteeing equitable distribution of food to all without discrimination is a key priority which the North Korean government must address urgently, in line with its international obligations, with appropriate assistance from the international community.The government must also introduce other measures to immediately put an end to other serious human rights abuses, such as torture and summary and arbitrary executions.

Freedom from hunger and malnutrition

North Korea continues to rely on international aid to feed its population, but many people in the country are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. According to a study published last year by the Food and Agricultural Organization, 13 million people in North Korea -- over half of the population -- suffered from malnutrition. Aid agencies have estimated that up to two million people have died since the mid-1990s as a result of acute food shortages caused by natural disasters and economic mismanagement. Several million children suffer from chronic malnutrition, impairing their physical and mental development. Many people in the country also lack adequate medical care due to lack of medical personnel and supplies. "

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA240022003?open&of=ENG-PRK