Hunger leads to growing violence and disorder
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) North Korea is ready to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. This is what China's Vice Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, the country's main negotiator with Pyongyang over the nuclear weapons crisis, communicated yesterday to Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa.
Tomorrow, Feb. 25, talks will get underway among six countries, as North Korea meets to try and resolve the crisis together with China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Russia.
North Korea's decision comes after the country has waged a long battle with the rest of the world. The current crisis has come to a head, now that the country is experiencing a human rights nightmare and disastrous hunger crisis.
Last December, Pyongyang showed signs in favor of freezing its nuclear program in exchange for economic aid and other concessions from the United States.
According to the South Korean humanitarian aid agency, Good Friends, years of hunger and lack of food have placed North Korea under extreme conditions.
Yet, above all, the situation has led to an upheaval in public order and an increase in violence, theft, poverty and desperation among citizens while authorities have taken a hard line approach to try and maintain public order.
According to the 25,000 testimonials gathered by Good Friends from North Korean refugees in China, since the mid-1990s 3 million North Koreans (13% of the populations) are said to have suffered from hunger and hardship.
One refugee told the story of his family's case of hardship and poverty: "Since they ended the food distribution program, the only thing my mother has cooked is wild vegetable and grain stew . The four of us spend the whole day in bed for fear of getting hungry. At night we wait for the train at the station where we steal coal."
Another woman spoke about the increase in brutal and ruthless acts of violence in her country. Stuck in their desperate situation she said: "We didn't know what to do to survive and in the end my husband began doing business with China. One day he earned a lot of money and came home happy. Then one of his friends invited him to go out, but he never came back home that day. The following evening I found his body laying in the road. I went looking for his friend, but his entire family had already left (the town). My husband was killed by his best friend over that money he earned."
Since 1994, the government has not handed out state food subsidies to needy citizens. Because of this the weakest sector of the population namely, women and children has been hit hard.
A young man told his tragic story: "My parents abandoned us and left for God knows where. My youngest brother and I wandered the streets, begged for money and stole food. At night we slept in dark places around town and in the end my brother both fell ill. He couldn't no longer speak and then died."
Another North Korean described a heart-wrenching scene he witnessed in which 5 children, who were reduced to skin and bones, died freezing in the streets: "They we are all holding one another, as if lulling themselves to sleep."
In recent months the World Food Program (WFP) issued a report the humanitarian aid emergency in the North Korea. The situation in the country has grown worse since the WFP has had to cut food supplies to the county due to a lack of funds and delays in donations. (MR)
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