Food Aids to Ryoungcheon, North Korean officials sell to the markets

[imText1]After the tragic accident in Ryoungcheon in April 2004, the UN and many other individual nations including US and South Korea sent a large amount of food and medical aids to North Korea. There has been a plenty of rumor that those aids were monopolized by the high level officials in North Korea and are being sold to the people, but nobody was able to provide evidence to prove or prove against the rumor. However, now we are given the most clear and real evidence one could have to prove that the international aids are openly being sold in the markets of North Korea.

The video clip The DailyNK obtained on February 14 includes the scenes from last July, where food and medical supplies provided to feed and heal the suffering people of Ryongcheon by the international society are being sold in Sunam Market, Choungjin. The video contains conversations between the recorder of the film and the sellers in the market which provides further evidence that the state cadres and military officials sold food and medical supplies sent to Ryongcheon to the common people last July. This is astonishing evidence to the international society that has believed that the food and medical aids to North Korea would reach the people in need.

Until now, World Food Program (WFP) has been monitoring whether the food aids such as rice would reach the North Korean people. This is the first time the international community is to be provided with a visual evidence that the aids are monopolized by the state and military officials and being sold to the people.

▲ On the bag it says “White Rice KARITAS”