Interview with Paul Risley, World Food Programme
(reporting by Myunghwa Jang, November 2, 2007)
The food shortage in North Korea may not be as bad as many believe this coming winter:
“The monitors’ reports do not show us the situation is that bad at this time. Presently, North Korea is during harvest time.”
However, according to Mr. Risley, the food shortage may worsen in the spring.
Beginning this week, 6,000 tons of flour will be distributed to flood victims in North Korea. 2,000 tons of food aid, currently in China, will also be sent to North Korea shortly.
“Several of our international staff in marked WFP SUVs are able to travel the counties affected by the flood and visit communities as they receive the food aid. Our staff have also conducted spot checks/unscheduled inspections to assess if the food was distributed to the people, how it was distributed, and if it was consumed within the household, once it reached the recipients.”
Filed under: China, East Asia, Newsdesk, east_asia, freespeech, governance, human_rights, north korea, north_korea | Tagged: famine, food_aid, NKorea_food, northkorea, north_korea, pyongyang, WFP
