Formed under the leadership of Nelson Mandela and comprised of "eminent global leaders," the Elders are an indpendant group that exist "to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity." Where better to devote attention than North Korea. A four-member team, comprised of former heads of state from America, Ireland, Norway, and Finland, recently completed a three-day visit to North Korea in an attempt to ease "the current tensions between North and South Korea."
In the comments released after their trip, the delegates highlighted the two major concerns that have come to define the international community's relationship with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Firstly, that the health of the North's population is suffering and, secondly, that they continue to pursue the development of nuclear weapons.
On the matter of food shortage, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson argued that "because of serious weather problems and donor cutbacks, the amount of food being distributed to families [in North Korea] is well below what is needed".
However, it would be unfair to suggest that the problem of famine in the DPRK is the sole cause of poor health and that it was brought on by external forces, like the weather and the international community. A past Norwegian prime minister, Gro Brundtland correctly pointed out that the "DPRK needs to invest in water and sanitation systems, medical services and the provision of basic medicines to deal with these health problems."
So, it is not just a problem of externalities. The government in North Korea is partially to blame for neglecting to develop their infrastructure enough to deal with the well-being of their citizens.
On the one hand, it might be argued that the North simply does not have the resources to invest in health-related systems. After all, its gross domestic product per capita ranks it at 192 of 228 countries worldwide.
On the other hand, a report on a recent trip to the DPRK by former director of the U.S. Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory Seigfried Hecker revealed that the uranium enrichment facility he visited was "stunning" and "astonishingly modern." So, it is not from a lack of resources that the population of the DPRK is suffering from health problems. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who was among the delegate of Elders, remarked that "there are no quick fixes to the security and nuclear issues" on the Korean peninsula, "and progress will require greater flexibility, sincerity and commitment from all parties."
It is this nuclear dimension of the North Korean situation that complicates matters of humanitarian aid to the country. If they were only pursuing uranium enriching and plutonium reprocessing facilities to meet domestic energy demands, then that would be understandable and would likely not stand in the way of humanitarian aid.
However, according to a senior North Korean official, quoted in Hecker's report, they have been unable to "contribute to the national demand for electricity", but they have been able to reprocess and deliver nuclear materials "to the military for weaponization."
The sanctions that have emerged from this intention to pursue a nuclear arsenal have certainly impacted the flow of food from donor nations. Thus, the solutions to the problems of North Korea cancel each other out. Their people are starving, but the international community is reluctant to support a regime that consistently adopts a confrontational stance by developing nuclear weapons.
A trio of concerns arise from these intractable problems. First of all, the North Korean government's professed goal of developing a nuclear arsenal has a significant impact on regional stability. Second of all, global security is greatly compromised by having a nuclear arsenal in the hands of a regime that shows little respect for the peace and safety of its neighbors. And finally, it is fraught with internal problems of human rights violations.
On this last point, it seems as though the visit by the Elders did some good. Following their advice, the United Nations World Food Programme and UNICEF have announced that they will "introduce emergency operations in the [DPRK] to feed an estimated 3.5 million people".
On the nuclear front, however, the Elders made little discernible progress.
Sources
- Central Intelligence Agency. "Country Comparison: GDP per Capita (PPP)." The World Factbook. 1 May 2011.
- Elders, The. " About the Elders." 28 April 2011.
- Elders, The. " The Elders to focus on easing inter-Korean tensions." 24 April 2011.
- Elders, The. " The Elders urge immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance to DPRK and early resumption of dialogue on all outstanding issues." 28 April 2011.
- Hecker, Seigfried S. "A Return Tirp to North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Complex." 20 November 2010.
- United Nations New Centre. " DPR Korea: UN agencies begin emergency operations to feed 3.5 million people." 29 April 2011.
Mark Guzylak-Shergold - Mark Guzylak-Shergold writes to clarify his thoughts and with any luck the thoughts of others.
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