At times, South Korean policy on resuming the food aid to North Korea makes me doubt whether it is really aimed at saving lives.
The government has decided to resume food aid to North Korea, which was stopped in summer 2007, and is considering when to start and how much to give. [….]
Another government official said the government is considering giving “10,000 to 30,000 tons” of food. If Seoul were to resume food aid on the scale of previous administrations, which was between 300,000 and 400,000 tons, it “would need a strategic decision taking progress in the North Korean nuclear issue into consideration,” a senior government source said.
A security officer said, “The government isn’t going to give aid to the North blindly. We’ll watch if the North does more than apologize” for the death of six South Koreans as a result of its sudden discharge of water from a dam into the Imjin River, “and if it accepts our humanitarian aid suggestion at inter-Korean meetings such as Red Cross talks.” [Chosun Ilbo]
I have no objection to the fact that South Korea certainly does have the right to condition its aid to get the apologies from North Korea regarding the “sudden discharge of water” that killed six South Koreans. But the food aid to people who have nothing to do with setting North Korean policies must be given solely under the humanitarian, not political, principles.
If the South ends up giving only a small consignment of food aid, and if it’s only enough to feed a small number of North Koreans, it becomes obivious of whose stomachs it will end up in. As long as the elite are well-fed by the aid, North Korea would have almost no incentive to allow transparent aid distribution to everyone. That’s why small consignments of direct aid may turn out to be highly ineffective and perhaps even anti-humanitarian.
I agree. There is no reason in the world to sacrifice human lives for the sake of politics. Even if food is distributed to the elite in North Korea, if South Korea gives enough food, then for sure, some of it will save the labourers, the poor, the prisoners, or just simply civilians. This is a question of morality, not about food for nuclear status. It is unfortunate that 6 South Koreans died in the water break, but that is no excuse to kill even more innocent starving civilians in North Korea over an apology.
I’m sure the 6 South Koreans who died would not want starving men, women and children in North Korea to be killed in their name. If South Korea sends more food, even though a lot of it is given to the elite, at least some civilians will be saved.