US undecided whether to give food Aid to N. Korea

Although Bush is saying this is unrelated to the current nuclear situation like we would believe this. You have to wonder how N. Korea is going to perceive this?

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration is trying to decide whether to provide food assistance to North Korea this year, a U.S. official said Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the decision is unrelated to a standoff between the United States and North Korea over the Asian country's nuclear weapons program.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the U.S. has halted food aid to North Korea so far this year and may not provide any in 2005.

LINK

ap.tbo.com...
www.drudgereport.com...

Given the current tensions between the US and N. Korea is it really wise at this point in time to discontinue aid? Or are we so strapped financial with Iraq that we truely have nothing left to give?

Thoughts?

of course its wise to discontinue aid. without food the people of North Korea could rise up against Kim. aniways without food he cant support the million man army he has.

good point but what if Kim gets all ticked off and decides that because we are withholding food aid to his country that he decides to go ahead and start testing? This of course would be "before" his people starved to death.

Originally posted by DDay
good point but what if Kim gets all ticked off and decides that because we are withholding food aid to his country that he decides to go ahead and start testing? This of course would be "before" his people starved to death.

if Kim decides to launch a missile, its just a test, and he wasted a couple of hundred million dollar missile and he gets the aid donors mad and more sanctions and people realize they are starving to death and will rise because he cant provide food because he made the aid donors (who provide the food in the first place) mad.

[edit on 20-5-2005 by deltaboy]

Originally posted by deltaboy

Originally posted by DDay
good point but what if Kim gets all ticked off and decides that because we are withholding food aid to his country that he decides to go ahead and start testing? This of course would be "before" his people starved to death.

if Kim decides to launch a missile, its just a test, and he wasted a couple of hundred million dollar missile and he gets the aid donors mad and more sanctions and people realize they are starving to death and will rise because he cant provide food because he made the aid donors (who provide the food in the first place) mad.

[edit on 20-5-2005 by deltaboy]

right, so i would be much, much more worried he'd be looking at selling.

Given the current tensions between the US and N. Korea is it really wise at this point in time to discontinue aid?

Er? Why should the US be giving aid in the first place? The US has to give aid to Korea, because of the threat of nuke war?? The koreans were given an oppurtunity to receive aid from President Clinton, they'd get more aid, in exchange for not working on nukes. The agreed, but, apparently, were lying, and continued on with the nuke program. So the US was helping to feed their famine ridden citizens, while their government feed thier million man border army and built up an expensive Nuke Weapons Program. Why should the US give them more food than they are already giving them now?

The US taxpayer doesn't owe the commies a damn thing!
Give Kim anything he asks for and he will go ahead and do what he pleases. How much loot do you all think he has in Switzerland?

Roper

Although I tend to agree that we should not be doing anything to support Kim, I cannot help but wonder about the morality of letting millions of innocent people go hungry, especially if we can feed them.

I understand that much, if not most, of the food aid will go to the PDRK Armed Forces, which in turn will repress an already-starved populace. But how can the North Korean people stand up to their masters if they don't have the strength to pick themselves up off the street?

Many reliable sources who have seen the North korean society first-hand are reporting that there is an entire generation of people who are physically stunted and mentally retarded due to the enduring side-effects of famine that occurred in the 1990's. It has been said that the average NK 18-year old male stands 5'2" and weighs about 130 lbs. Think about it. That is an entire society of men who are smaller in stature than the average western woman (no disrespect intended).

Now, why should we feed starving North Koreans who are threatening us and our friends with nuclear weapons, when there are millions of other peaceful people around the world who need our help just as much? I personally don't know. But, if we are faced with only being able to help some of the starving people, and not all of them, I would have to go with the lesser of two evils, and let the North Koreans go hungry. Even though that in of itself.....sounds evil.

If Kim gets pissy about cutting of food aid to him, I could care less. I do not suffer fools and mindless twits using extortion gladly. He is not entited to our aid, nor has he any right to it.

I do have a problem with giving aid and feeding a country that constantly makes threats and wants to start a war with us. Compassion is one thing, but feeding your enemy to keep him strong so that someday he can come and attack and harm you is pure stupidity. Obviously, whatever aid we have sent there has earned us no good will, just a bunch of threats and verbal abuse, so I say cut em off. Feed the hungry people in Africa instead.

Really, why should we feed an enemy of our country? One who who will not even come to the negotiating table much less anything else. To hell with them, let china fed them.

Why should we feed North Korea when Mr. Jong already cuts back on the nations supplement of food reducing it to nearly half of the required dietary standards?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

As Colin Powell frequently said, US humanitarian aid is given for humanitarian reasons, and is in no way tied to political ones. I think now that he, one of the few moderating influences in our foreign policy, is gone, we may be seeing a very troubling new policy emerging. Namely, using hunger as a political weapon. I would like to hear what he would say on the topic.

As Pyros mentioned, most of the aid likely goes to the military. But some portion goes to the civilians I'm quite sure, who have no say in Kim Jong Il's policies. We have the 8th Army in South Korea. Do we really need to use starvation as an additional weapon? Are we that petty? if they let it happen.

By the way, has anyone read the book by that Italian chef who worked for Kim Jong Il? I hear its truly freaky.

-koji K.

[edit on 21-5-2005 by koji_K]

[edit on 21-5-2005 by koji_K]