BY NAOMI CRAINE
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea faces the prospect of famine in large parts of the country. Capitalist governments around the world have responded with little or no aid.
Heavy flooding last August - described as the worst in the century - wiped out some 40 percent of the arable land, contributing to an estimated 3.2 million ton shortfall in the rice harvest. Some 500,000 people were left homeless by the flooding, and freezing winter weather is approaching. Pyongyang has appealed for international assistance.
The United Nations World Food Program requested $8.8 million in contributions of food aid for North Korea, but so far virtually none has been forthcoming. As of December 13, only $200,000 had come in, and the agency said it would have to stop relief shipments.
The U.S. government claimed congressional regulations and pressure from the South Korean government prevented it from pledging more than a small amount of medical aid through UNICEF.
At the same time, Washington, which maintains a massive military presence along the border dividing the Korean peninsula, is using the situation to probe against Pyongyang. U.S. officials have insinuated that the North Korean government may provoke a military confrontation as a "distraction" from the food shortage.