Head of U.N Humanitarian Aid Paints Dire Scene in NK

At long last I have located the follow-up article to the original sending-off of the U.N's humanitarian department head, Mrs. Valerie Amos, into corners of North Korea not able to be groomed for government-approved tourist. Her report seems to indicate a more dire situation playing out in this isolated nation than even our worst-case estimates. On the brunt end of food shortages, 1 in 2 North Korean children are reported to exhibit severe or chronic malnutrition; rural North Koreans are revealed to be desperately conscious of their diets, even spending the entirety of their meager income on food. More than just depressing statistics have leaked out of the country this week, however- hints of political chess being played with real pawns have also escaped. South Korean and US aid drops into the country have tapered off even in these desperate times, in an attempt to make North Korea buckle underneath burgeoning requests for discontinuation of nuclear arms production, which has had a few countries shaking in their boots for some time. Let us hope that The Great Father quickly decides that his institution cannot last if the proletarian pillars collapse from underneath it.

By Emily Canaday

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/world/asia/head-of-un-humanitarian-aid-paints-dire-scene-in-north-korea.html