• by Christine Ahn
• Friday, April 29, 2011
• Inter Press Service

On April 28, former US President Jimmy Carter and three former European heads of state landed in Seoul after travelling to Pyongyang to help reopen dialogue between the two Koreas. Known as the Elders, they carried this message to the leaders of South Korea and the United States: "Chairman and General Secretary Kim Jong-il said he is willing and the people of North Korea are willing to negotiate with South Korea or with the United States or with the six powers on any subject any time and without any preconditions," writes Christine Ahn, Executive Director of the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the National Campaign to End the Korean War.

In this article, the author writes that also on their agenda was North Korea's current food crisis. According to a recent UN report, up to 6 million people are facing food shortages. This has raised concerns among many in the international community that the situation may grow into a full-blown famine like that of the mid- 1990s which claimed the lives of up to one million North Koreans.

While many global leaders have returned from North Korea with similar messages regarding Pyongyang's desire for engagement, the difference this time is the Elders' understanding that North Korea's food crisis stems from the unending Korean War, including over half a century of sanctions against the North. Yes, North Koreans need aid, but what they need more than food is an end to hostilities, the lifting of sanctions, and a genuine engagement plan that includes a formal resolution to the Korean War.

//NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, IRELAND, POLAND, THE UNITED STATES, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM//

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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