1/5 In December 1994, at the earliest signs of North Korea’s famine, my colleague, an NGO leader in Washington, DC, was asked by Kim Jong Il’s inner circle if he could request food assistance for the DPRK from European capitals. The European diplomats on the continent he met were
2/5 very surprised at the DPRK's request, thinking the North was able to feed itself, but nonetheless responded to him favorably. But days later, the ROK government of that time, aware of my colleague's inquiries, specifically contacted each European government my colleague met
3/5 with and strongly insisted North Korea was perfectly fine and would not need food assistance. The rest is history; the famine occurred in 1995-96 with great loss of life. The lesson is when North Korea quietly contacts international NGOs seeking the assistance of the outside
4/5 world, that may be the only warning we get of an impending domestic public health or food security disaster. When the DPRK reaches out, out of pride, they never scream for help. But by reaching out, they are acknowledging they could get hit by a tidal wave of problems they
5/5 can't control. So for COVID-19, the U.S. must look beyond what's happening on the surface, and probe to see if these are warning signs of an internal DPRK health crisis. If that proves the case, Trump's offer to Kim of medical assistance takes on new meaning.
