Comments on: Why Does Kim Jong Il Need Flood Aid? — Didn’t We Just Send Him $25 Million? http://pajamasmedia.com/claudiarosett/why_does_kim_jong_il_need_floo/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:03:34 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Richardson http://pajamasmedia.com/claudiarosett/why_does_kim_jong_il_need_floo/comment-page-1/#comment-788 Richardson Wed, 15 Aug 2007 03:12:44 +0000 http://pajamasmedia.com/claudiarosett/2007/08/14/why-does-kim-jong-il-need-flood-aid-didnt-we-just-send-him-25-million/#comment-788 In 2005 North Korea actually <a href="http://www.dprkstudies.org/2005/09/30/more-on-north-korea%e2%80%99s-rejection-of-wfp-aid/" rel="nofollow">asked the World Food Program (WFP) to leave</a>. Why? South Korea was providing ample food aid with one key difference; an almost universal lack of monitoring where the food went (i.e., starving people vs. the regime elite and the military). But it’s not too surprising that North Korea is asking for food, since U.S. financial sanctions at BDA have made the DPRK unwelcome in most banks that would deal with them before, and there has been a silent battle against their illicit trade networks. Which is why the Bush administration’s current policy of engagement is so maddening; isolating North Korea was beginning to work. But forcing the regime to collapse would bring <a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HI09Dg02.html" rel="nofollow">a whole net set of consequences</a>. In 2005 North Korea actually asked the World Food Program (WFP) to leave. Why? South Korea was providing ample food aid with one key difference; an almost universal lack of monitoring where the food went (i.e., starving people vs. the regime elite and the military).

But it’s not too surprising that North Korea is asking for food, since U.S. financial sanctions at BDA have made the DPRK unwelcome in most banks that would deal with them before, and there has been a silent battle against their illicit trade networks.

Which is why the Bush administration’s current policy of engagement is so maddening; isolating North Korea was beginning to work. But forcing the regime to collapse would bring a whole net set of consequences.

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