U.N. report: North Korea needs humanitarian aid

PYONGYANG, North Korea (NBCNC) – There is very clear evidence of humanitarian need in North Korea, U.N Aid Chief Mark Lowcock said Thursday following a visit to the isolated country which was the first of its kind since 2011.

He said about 20 percent of children in North Korea suffer from malnutrition, highlighting the need for more funding for humanitarian aid.

The United Nations said in a statement that more than 10 million people, some 40 percent of the population of North Korea, need humanitarian assistance.

Although humanitarian supplies or operations are exempt under U.N. Security Council resolutions, U.N officials have warned that international sanctions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs are exacerbating humanitarian problems by slowing aid deliveries.

Lowcock said that along with the logistical challenges, the existence of the sanctions was putting potential donors off sending aid to North Korea.

Lowcock said, “Well there’s very clear evidence of real humanitarian need, so something like one child in five is stunted which arises from malnutrition. I saw a little baby with his mum in one of the hospitals who was being treated for severe acute malnutrition. Something like half the children in rural areas are drinking contaminated water.

“I’m not sure that the world appreciates exactly the scale of the humanitarian challenge. It’s true that things have improved quite a lot over recent years, certainly, since my predecessor, Valerie Amos was there have been significant improvements in reducing malnutrition and dealing with a range of other problems but it’s equally true that there are quite severe problems still there

“Beyond the narrow issues of the sanctions though is what I would describe as a sort of chilling effect if you like of the environment especially in relation to sanctions on our ability to communicate to the people who have funded our programs in the past that there is a continuing need and one of my purposes in going was to understand the issue better myself so I could communicate what I’d found and I hope that we can get our appeal a bit better funded.

“My point really is that independently of where those talks go, and obviously everyone wants them to be successful, there’s an ongoing humanitarian need and the sanctions committee and therefore the security council have agreed that those needs should be met by creating the exemptions and I’m trying to work to achieve what is really an uncontroversial goal I think.”