Seoul officials seem to be hoping to use the deteriorating drought in North Korea as leverage for making a breakthrough in the stalled inter-Korean ties.
Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said this week that while the two Koreas were struggling with a severe drought, Seoul was willing to provide necessary support for the North, which might be facing a tougher situation. According to an estimate by the ministry, North Korea is likely to see its crop output fall by up to 20 percent this year if the dry spell continues through July.
Hong’s remarks come as President Park Geun-hye’s administration is seeking to improve relations with Pyongyang in the lead-up to the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule on Aug. 15.
The North has given mixed signals on resuming inter-Korean dialogue. Last week, Pyongyang issued a statement that it is ready to hold talks with Seoul, if certain conditions are met. The announcement was followed by the release of two South Koreans held in the North.
But Pyongyang sentenced two other South Koreans under its custody to a “life of hard labor” on espionage charges Tuesday just as the U.N. opened a field office in Seoul to monitor and document human rights abuses in the communist state. A day earlier, it made public its decision to boycott the upcoming Summer Universiade in a South Korean city.
Humanitarian aid may need to be offered immediately if the North Korean people face a massive famine. Still, consideration should be given to linking large-scale assistance to getting the recalcitrant regime to change its course of action.
In this regard, South Korea needs to hold close consultations with the U.S. and China on any provision of aid to the North.
Last week, China expressed its willingness to provide food aid to North Korea. But the U.S. has remained more cautious. A U.S. agricultural expert recently said the drought gripping the North was not yet a “catastrophe,” suggesting Pyongyang may be exaggerating the situation.
North Korea’s state media has reported that the country has been suffering from what it calls the worst drought in a century. If Pyongyang makes a request for food assistance from the international community, work needs to be done to grasp specific conditions and enhance the transparency of the delivery system.
The North should ultimately be made to abandon its fantasy that it can sustain its broken economy while sticking to its nuclear weapons programs. A ravaging drought may prove its nuclear arsenal is nothing but an expensive ornament that is of no use for feeding the 24.6 million people in the impoverished state.
