Comment on Chosun Ilbo article by anonymous USG source

[This is from a currently serving USG person who must, perforce, remain anonymous, responding to the Haggard/Noland post of April 7.]

Food aid should be carefully monitored by Korean-speaking US citizens. That said, let me share a few notes on Marcus’s good discussion:

1) WFP penetration of the northeast and northern provinces was less than many other places. Many of the non-covered counties were in North Hamgyong, where the vast majority of defectors come from;

2) Certainly no surprise that those who have fled the country might believe (with cause) that the military takes more than its share of goodies generally and report that, with or without evidence of diversion of food aid;

Learning liberty

The number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea has surged in recent times. More than 10,000 have defected in the last three years alone, escaping economic hardship and suffering in the isolated regime. But many defectors have trouble adjusting to their new lives in the South.

Al Jazeera TV broadcast the following episode of its programme 101 East, looking at a school that is trying to help young defectors start new lives in modern South Korea. The programme looks at the plight of those who manage to escape the DPRK, and the difficulties they face both in transit through China and once they arrive in South Korea. The school helps young defectors adjust to the challenges of their new lives.