Wednesday October 13, 2021
Children and the elderly at risk
UN warns of starvation in North Korea
The international community has imposed harsh sanctions on North Korea in recent years because of its nuclear program. Meanwhile, even dictator Kim admits a famine. A UN report calls for the penalties against the isolated country to be relaxed in order to prevent deaths.
According to the UN, North Korea is experiencing an acute famine that could lead to death in the most physically weak. The UN special rapporteur on human rights issues, Tomas Ojea Quintana, has therefore issued a report calling for the UN sanctions against Pyongyang to be relaxed. North Korea has also increasingly isolated itself because of the corona pandemic.
In June, the North Korean state broadcaster KCTV admitted that there was a hunger crisis. The ruler Kim Jong Un said that supplying the population with food would be “difficult”. Quintana now stated in his report that the “most vulnerable children and elderly people” are at risk of “starvation”. Quintana therefore called on the UN Security Council to review and weaken the sanctions imposed on North Korea in order to simplify humanitarian and “life-sustaining” aid.
The UN food organization FAO announced three months ago that there would be a gap of 860,000 tons of food in North Korea this year.
On Tuesday, Kim blamed the United States for the military tensions on the Korean peninsula. He said North Korea’s weapons were used for self-defense and were not directed against any particular country. North Korea is subject to international punitive measures because of its nuclear and missile program.