<<Well, you know, if a nation has to dominate something, it may as well dominate itself; in so dominating, self-martyrdom may be its national passtime.>> >From Agence France-Presse North Korea denounces claim that three million died of famine SEOUL, March 15 (AFP) - Stalinist North Korea on Monday denounced claims that three million people had died of famine during the past few years. The verbal attack came as South Korea launched a campaign to raise funds to help the devastated North. Pyongyang accused South Korea's intelligence agency of spreading rumours after claims by Hwang Jang-Yop, the highest official to defect here from North Korea, that "at the end of last year, the famine has caused more than three million deaths." "The vicious anti-DPRK (North Korea) diatribe came at a time when the South Korean intelligence service was zealously spreading a rumour that three million died of starvation in the northern half of Korea in the past four years," said Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It quoted the spokesman for the flood damage rehabilitation committee as saying the move was "a bid to frustrate international humanitarian aid. "It proves that with a view to using international humanitarian aid for the disintegration and overthrow of the system in the northern half of Korea hostile elements are now turning to an extremely despicable means," said North Korea. Hwang said in an interview with French daily Le Monde that the total, based partly on the Communist Party's central committee's own figures, estimated 500,000 people died in 1995, plus about a million a year from 1996 to 1998. Hwang lives in South Korea after defecting from North Korea through Beijing in February 1997. While acknowledging the situation in the capital Pyongyang was less serious, Hwang, the north's former chief ideologue and architect of its juche (self-reliance) philosophy, said: "Even secret police, who have considerable power, asked leaders like me to help them find food." While terming medical and food aid to North Korea "necessary," he said "economic aid signifies military assistance." North Korea's KCNA report was released as South Korea's Red Cross launched a fund-raising campaign to provide Pyongyang with fertilizers aimed at helping the country survive following a severe famine since 1995 when a series of natural disasters hit the country. "We are hoping to come up with enough funds to send North Korea about 100,000 tonnes of fertilizer," a Red Cross official said. South Korea's Red Cross last week announced plans to send the aid to North Korea. South Korean officials said North Korea's fertilizer production stood at 625,000 tonnes last year, far short of its annual demand of 1.7 million tonnes. The World Food Programme has warned that North Koreans were still dying of famine, with the population completely dependent on international food aid at least for this month. The UN body has appealed for 225 million dollars to provide 533,000 tonnes of food this year. So far, it has received 101 million dollars. >From NEWS FROM KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY OF DPRK(Democratic People's Republic of Korea) http://www.kcna.co.jp/contents/990315.htm Hostile forces warned against use of international humanitarian aid for dishonest political purpose Pyongyang, March 15 (KCNA) -- The spokesman for the flood damage rehabilitation committee of the DPRK released a statement on March 15 as regards recent ill-boding moves to use international humanitarian aid to the DPRK for a dishonest political purpose. Typical of it was a recent program of the third channel of French television which slandered the socialist system in North Korea, the spokesman said, and continued: In the program those who betrayed the nation after committing high crimes defamed the system in North Korea and painted a wrong picture of its economic situation in accordance with the trite script made by the plotters of South Korea. Especially, some non-governmental organisation members, including those of the "Action Contre La Faim" (ACT) involved in humanitarian aid activity in North Korea in the television appearance groundlessly faulted arrangements for observers at aid distribution. They went So far as to vilify the DPRK over a political issue which had nothing to do with the aid. The vicious anti-DPRK diatribe came at a time when the South Korean intelligence service was zealously spreading a rumour that three million people died of starvation in North Korea in the past four years, in a bid to frustrate international humanitarian aid to it. So, the recent anti-DPRK campaign cannot be considered to be a separate one at all. It proves that with a view to using international humanitarian aid for the "disintegration and overthrow" of the system in North Korea hostile elements are now turning to an extremely despicable means. We are exerting every possible effort to make sure that international humanitarian aid is effectively used for stable living of the people in the afflicted areas and rehabilitation in those areas and rendering every sincere cooperation to aid organisations in their performance. As already clarified, the DPRK has always adhered to the principled stand that it welcomes any aid, purely humanitarian, but it will not accept any aid with political conditionally meant to serve a sinister aim. We will never pardon those who dare vilify the political and socialist systems in North Korea, whoever they may be and whatever the reason. The responsibility for consequences of the recent smear campaign will lie with those who orchestrated the farce and those involved in it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. -Thomas Huxley + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
