US embassy cable - 03ROME5222

UNCLAS  ROME 005222 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
AIDAC 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME 
 
STATE FOR A/S KELLY, A/S PRM DEWEY, IO A/S HOLMES, EAP/K 
DONG AND BELLER, AND IO/EDA WINNICK 
USDA/FAS FOR U/S PENN, MCHAMBLISS AND RTILSWORTH 
USAID FOR ADMINISTRATOR NATSIOS, AA/DCHA WINTER, AA/ANE 
CHAMBERLAIN, D/DCHA/FFP LLANDIS AND JBRAUSE 
NSC FOR JDWORKEN 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, PREF, EAGR, ECON, KN, KS, UN 
SUBJECT: Current readout on 2003 funding for WFP's North 
Korea Emergency operation (EMOP) 
 
REF: (A) 02 ROME 5830 
 
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Summary 
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1. As of mid-October, WFP had resourced 288,901 metric tons 
of food assistance (valued at USD 86.6 million) against its 
calendar year 2003 appeal for 513,096 metric tons. Principal 
donors include: Republic of Korea, 100,000 mts; Russian 
Federation, 40,463 mts; European Commission-ECHO, 46,285 
mts; United States, 40,170 mts; Italy, 20,273 mts; and 
Germany, 14,725 mts. No progress is reported by WFP in its 
negotiations with DPR Korea on creation of greater 
humanitarian "space" for its operations. On greater access 
and unrestricted monitoring, WFP Executive Director Jim 
Morris commented to CNN on October 3: "This is not about 
politics, but this is about accountability. It is about 
North Korea adhering to the same standards that every one of 
the 80 countries we work in adhere to." End summary. 
 
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Background 
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2. On December 2, 2002, World Food Program (ref A) launched 
its 2003 emergency operation (EMOP) for North Korea - one 
year (January - December 2003), valued at USD 201.08 million 
(513,096 mts), to assist 6.4 million people - mainly women 
and children. As of mid-October, 2003, WFP had resourced 
288,901 metric tons of food assistance (valued at USD 86.6 
million) against its calendar year 2003 appeal (56.3 
percent). Principal donors this year include: Republic of 
Korea, 100,000 mts; Russian Federation, 40,463 mts; European 
Commission-ECHO, 46,285 mts; United States, 40,170 mts; 
Italy, 20,273 mts; and Germany, 14,725 mts. 
 
3. Since 1995 WFP has delivered well over 3 million metric 
tons of food aid, mostly cereals, to the DPRK, with the 
United States by far the main donor. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission to the 
DPR Korea - September 23 - October 4, 2003 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
4. In its Special Report issued on October 30 (and available 
on the FAO website) related to a review of DPR Korea's 2003 
crop harvest and estimated cereal import requirements for 
2004, the FAO/WFP report recommended 484,000 tons of 
commodities, including 400,000 tons of cereals, to be sought 
as food aid for 2004 for the most vulnerable North Koreans. 
Three-quarters of the total would be earmarked for children 
in nurseries, kindergartens, primary schools, orphanages and 
hospitals, pregnant and nursing women and elderly people. 
Note. These numbers will become more definite when the UN 
launches its Consolidated 2004 (CAP) Appeal for DPR Korea on 
November 19. 
 
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WFP access and monitoring 
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5. As amply documented by the United States General 
Accounting Office (GAO) and elsewhere, the DPR Korea 
authorities, from the very beginning of humanitarian 
assistance in 1995, have resisted random site visits and 
uncontrolled interaction with aid recipients, a policy which 
WFP (and its non-governmental organization (NGO) partners 
found unacceptable but have not been able to reverse. 
Moreover, the DPR Korea authorities keep almost a quarter of 
North Korea counties (i.e., 43 counties out of 206) off- 
limits to international food assistance monitoring; hence 
there are no deliveries of humanitarian assistance to these 
areas.ION IN ROME 
 
STATE FOR A/S KELLY, A/S PRM DEWEY, IO A/S HOLMES, EAP/K 
DONG AND BELLER, AND IO/EDA WINNICK 
USDA/FAS FOR U/S PENN, MCHAMBLISS AND RTILSWORTH 
USAID FOR ADMINISTRATOR NATSIOS, AA/DCHA WINTER, AA/ANE 
CHAMBERLAIN, D/DCHA/FFP 
 
 
6. In responding to the GAO Report (October 1999) entitled: 
"Foreign Assistance - North Korea Restricts Food Aid 
Monitoring," then-WFP Executive Director Catherine Bertini 
(who visited DRR Korea on three occasions) wrote: "there is 
no doubt that the limits that have been placed on our food 
aid monitoring have made WFP operations difficult. The 
limitations imposed by the DPRK Government - on access to 
visas by all nationalities, random visits, and further 
nutritional monitoring - have been the subject of literally 
hundreds of meetings and intense negotiations with DPRK 
authorities. In 1998, after warning the government of the 
DPRK that we would not allow food deliveries in counties 
where they could not be monitored, WFP reduced operations by 
USD 50 million. We continue to urge the North Korean 
authorities to allow improvements." 
 
7. Present WFP Executive Director Jim Morris (who toured 
North Korea in October 2002) commented, in a CNN interview 
in Tokyo on October 3, 2003, on increased access and 
unrestricted monitoring: "This is not about politics, but 
this is about accountability. It is about North Korea 
adhering to the same standards that every one of the 80 
countries we work in adhere to." 
 
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Comment 
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8. Morris has, in US Mission's view, vigorously presented 
the humanitarian community's concern in "clear and plain 
English." But to get the message across, he will need 
equally vigorous allies who will put increased access and 
unrestricted monitoring at the center of our collective 
diplomatic and strategic agenda as we consider response to 
the 2004 UN Consolidated Appeal for North Korea.  Hall 
 
 
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 2003ROME05222 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED