PRESS BRIEFING BY WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME

7 May 1997

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME

19970507 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing yesterday afternoon that the 1997 food shortage in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would be 2.3 million tons. The Government believed it could raise about 1 million tons of food, leaving a shortfall of 1.3 million tons. The WFP had appealed for 200,000 tons, as it could monitor the distribution of that amount. The food would be distributed to children under six years of age in nurseries and kindergartens, to hospitals, and to people in the central and southern parts of the country working in flood rehabilitation food-for-work programmes.

To date, some $38.6 million of the $95 million worth of food aid needed had been raised, Ms. Bertini said, adding that a list of donors' contributions was available in the briefing room. However, even if 100 per cent of the amount requested was raised, it would still represent only 0.2 per cent of the 1.3 million tons of food needed to avoid malnutrition and potential starvation in 1997. Governments should, therefore, also contribute bilaterally. Recently, China had announced a 70,000 ton bilateral contribution and, in May, some 70,000 tons would be delivered on behalf of countries that had responded to the WFP appeal.

In addition to international staff in Pyongyang, a WFP team headed by Tun Myat, Director of its Transport and Logistics Division, had been given access to areas where foreigners had not previously been, particularly in the north-east and in north and south Hamgyong provinces, Ms. Bertini said. The team had also visited three of the country's four ports. According to reports yesterday morning from Mr. Myat, people were pleading for food, and many could be seen foraging in the fields for left-over rice or corn stalks. Most vulnerable were children and the elderly. Ms. Bertini added that when she visited the country in March, she had also seen people grinding up rice and corn stalks to supplement their basic rice supply.

Mr. Myat had reported that only some 15 to 20 per cent of the children enrolled in schools and kindergartens were in attendance because families and parents did not have enough food to give children to take to school, Ms. Bertini said. Hospital staff, too, said there would be more patients if they had food. The WFP's food aid would, therefore, be distributed to children in nurseries and schools and also to some hospitals.

According to Mr. Myat, the central Government had so far shipped no food to the northern provinces in 1997, Ms. Bertini continued. The last food distribution, on 10 March, had been extremely limited, and warehouses held a total of 600 tons. People were using different coping mechanisms. Provincial governments were now authorized to collect scrap metal to trade for and purchase food. The seaweed harvest had also been expanded. However, seaweed, which was part of the diet, had limited calories and only provided iodine and iron.

Ms. Bertini said Mr. Myat had reported seeing increased mechanization to grind rice and corn stalks, empty cobs of corn and empty pea pods. A small amount of flavour and other ground filler material, including leaves and the detoxified barks of pine trees, were also added and the mixture distributed in cake form. There was no nutritional value in that food substance, and it was basically used to fill stomachs and stave off hunger pains. The ports, although old, were efficient and could handle the increased food aid. It was hoped that governments would contribute bilateral food aid and also contributions in response to the Department for Humanitarian Affairs' consolidated appeal.

A correspondent said that, in the past, China's food contributions had been made on a commercial basis. What was the basis for the 70,000 tons announced today? Ms. Bertini said she understood it was a donation. Last year, China had contributed between 120,000 to 150,000 tons of food, plus a fair amount that was traded.

What was her reaction to Japan's unwillingness to participate actively in food donations? a correspondent asked. Had she made a specific request to the Japanese Government? Ms. Bertini said Japan had contributed $5.25 million worth of food in response to WFP's second request last year. The city of Yokohama and a group of non-governmental organizations, called "The Relief Campaign Committee of Japan", had also contributed. The WFP hoped the Japanese Government would make a substantial contribution to the current appeal. She said she had visited Tokyo to discuss the matter. Although the Japanese Government had not yet made a commitment, it was hoped it would do so in the very near future.

Was the United States' reluctance to provide massive aid shipments on the grounds that it would be used to prop up the regime in Pyongyang a legitimate concern? a correspondent asked. Could the WFP guarantee food would be distributed to those who needed it? Ms. Bertini said many countries were concerned that food should go to the people targeted, not just in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, but in any country. The WFP prided itself on being able to target the people most in need and to monitor distribution.

Frankly, if the WFP could monitor the distribution of 1.3 million tons of food needed, it would have appealed for that amount, she went on to say. However, while it could effectively monitor up to 205,000 tons of food directed specifically to children in nurseries and kindergartens, to people in the "work-for-food" projects, and to some hospital patients, the need was far greater. The public food distribution system was very vast and it was not possible to monitor such distribution even with 200 or 500 monitors. Therefore, to stave off malnutrition and starvation, governments would have to give directly to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Despite their denials, Washington and Seoul seemed to be making further food aid conditional on the participation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in peace talks, a correspondent said. Was that a smart move? Ms. Bertini said the WFP appreciated multilateral food aid by the United States, the Republic of Korea and other countries and hoped it would continue. The WFP was a humanitarian agency and believed that food should be provided to the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to keep them alive, just as it was provided to other countries whose governments might not have a strong relationship with the donors.

Ms. Bertini said she did not think there should be any linkage to political progress. She believed the United States' position had, for some time, been that food should go for humanitarian purposes exclusively and was hopeful that would mean more bilateral food contributions, as well as donations through the United Nations system.

A correspondent said she did not understand a United States statement that it would give to future appeals. Wasn't the current appeal strong enough? Ms. Bertini referred the correspondent to United States spokesman Nicholas Burns for further clarification on its position. The WFP must appeal for the total needed which was 1.3 million tons of food. According to every analysis, that estimate of the total need was conservative.

It seemed that, because of political considerations, the food needed was not going to be forthcoming in the near future, a correspondent said. When did she expect people to start dying on a large scale? Ms. Bertini said it was very difficult to make that type of prediction because there had been no nutritional surveys in the country. The WFP was working with others to put such a system together.

Had the lack of nutritional information and the fact that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was so "closed off" influenced the rate of donations? a correspondent asked. Ms. Bertini said she did not think such factors affected the willingness of countries to donate to the WFP. The Programme's first appeal in 1995 for $8.8 million had received $7.5 million; the second appeal in 1996 for $25.5 million had received $26.3 million. Governments understood the need and were considering additional contributions. She did not believe they were waiting for further information.

There were repeated reports that the military and political factions were far better fed than the villagers, the elderly and children, a correspondent said. Were the WFP monitors doing a good job? How many were there in the country. Ms. Bertini said that the Government distribution system had, until recently, contributed 100 grams of food per person per day to the general population. That represented a decrease from 700 grams a few years ago, to 450 grams, then to 200 grams last year. The WFP had anticipated food would run out in June, and the Government had said it would run out in March or April. According to reports, little food was now being shipped throughout the country. The military, which was served by a separate system, was receiving about 700 grams a day, a decrease from last year. The WFP did not know if the amount had dropped further in 1997.

What reasons did governments give for not meeting WFP appeals? a correspondent asked. Ms. Bertini said the decision to send bilateral food aid was more complicated than giving humanitarian assistance through a multilateral organization, such as the WFP, particularly for governments which did not have diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Beginning with the first appeal in 1995, it had been a challenging decision for many governments. It was a gradual political process in any democracy for governments finally to decide that humanitarian needs were more important than anything else and that they were not willing to let five-year-olds die just because they were born in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Given that political education process, would Ms. Bertini ask the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to allow foreign journalists to visit so the public could be educated about current needs? a corespondent asked. Ms. Bertini said the WFP had asked periodically for press access and had not been very successful. On her last trip in March, the WFP had been able to take a video cameraman and still photographer, and video footage and photographs were available. She had told officials that the rest of the world had to see the problems and report on it. The process was gradual, and she hoped it would improve over time.

In response to another question, Ms. Bertini said she did not know if the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had cut back on its heavy military expenditure to pay for food.

Asked if the Government had handled the crisis as well as it might have, Ms. Bertini said it had first asked for aid relating to a hailstorm in 1994. Although it was made a long time after the fact, that request represented a major breakthrough. The Government had also asked for help after floods in 1995 and 1996 and had responded immediately to the WFP's normal requirements for setting up a programme. From that point, the WFP's work had been negotiated with the Government at every step of the way. Working with international monitors and with a large programme from an international agency was a new experience for the Government, and process had been slow but orderly. The WFP was getting its basic requirements, but new requests always took time.

To another question, Ms. Bertini said that while the WFP would like to expand its mandate in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, it would not be possible, given the public distribution system, to monitor all the food coming into the country. The WFP did not want to accept food unless it could tell the donor that it would go to the targeted population.

Asked how much interest had American non-governmental organizations had shown in the programme, Ms. Bertini said they had shown a great deal. They had raised fair amounts of money and were involved in the idea of having a non-governmental organization coordinator. World Vision had used the WFP to distribute food aid. Friends of the WFP, the Red Cross network, and many other non-governmental organizations were also interested, involved and finding ways to contribute. She expected increased involvement with the arrival in the country of the non-governmental organization coordinator.

Asked how many people would be fed by the first shipments, Ms. Bertini said she would get back to the correspondent with that information.

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