| Having screwed up the economy, health care, Iran, Egypt, and Libya, Obama now takes aim at the Korean Peninsula. |
WASHINGTON — The US is considering resumption of food aid to North Korea amid fears people there could starve after a harsh winter, top officials said Tuesday.
Special envoy Stephen Bosworth told the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that the US is assessing the need for assistance after the reclusive Asian nation requested it.
The top US diplomat for East Asia, Kurt Campbell, told lawmakers that no decision has yet been made resuming said, and it would be taken in close coordination with South Korea. Asked whether food aid could ultimately ease economic pressure on the North, effectively allowing it put more resources into its nuclear programs, Campbell said North Korea had historically shown it was willing to allow “enormous suffering” among its people, noting that many starved during the 1990s.
“The choice here is whether these people are allowed to starve. It’s a humanitarian issue not a political one,” he said.
| Except that the Norks are using it as a political issue to manipulate us. And once again, it's working. |
Bosworth said if US assistance was resumed, effective monitoring would ensure it reached civilians who most needed it — amid concerns food could be diverted to the military. |