US State Department Criticizes North Korea's Humanitarian Crisis Due to Weapons Development

The scene of North Korea's test firing of a super-large multiple rocket launcher in November last year

The U.S. State Department responded coldly to a United Nations (UN) report stating that $107 million is needed to support North Korea's humanitarian crisis, saying, "The North Korean regime has brought this crisis upon itself." Following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump does not want a North Korea-U.S. summit before November this year, a senior White House official made further negative remarks about the possibility of holding a future North Korea-U.S. summit, signaling a prolonged cooling period between the two countries.

On the 12th (local time), Voice of America (VOA) reported that a U.S. State Department spokesperson said regarding the new UN agency report highlighting North Korea's humanitarian crisis, "North Korea's humanitarian situation is the result of the regime prioritizing illegal weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of its people."

The official stated, "The United States is deeply concerned about the well-being of the North Korean people and the humanitarian situation in North Korea," but also pointed out, "The North Korean regime's wrong decisions have pushed its people into a humanitarian crisis."

On the 10th, the UN Country Team, a consortium of UN agencies, reported that out of 25 million North Korean residents, 10.4 million are in a humanitarian crisis, and estimated that $107 million is needed for humanitarian aid to North Korea this year. In response, a U.S. State Department official clearly stated, "The U.S. government currently has no plans to provide direct humanitarian assistance to North Korea."

In this regard, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it will continue to focus on "targeted financial measures" against North Korea next year, maintaining pressure on the regime. The Treasury's Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) office submitted its fiscal year 2021 budget report to Congress. VOA reported that the Treasury will continue to focus on using targeted financial measures against North Korea, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, according to this report.

Earlier, on the 11th, Robert O'Brien, U.S. National Security Advisor at the White House, said, "If there is a good deal for the U.S., President Trump would hold a summit with anyone, but whether an additional North Korea-U.S. summit is appropriate remains to be seen." Additionally, CNN reported that President Trump does not want a summit with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un before the November presidential election. These series of moves are interpreted as reaffirming the Trump administration's intention to focus on managing the situation and securing re-election rather than actively engaging to break the deadlock in North Korea-U.S. talks.

Meanwhile, apart from North Korea's food shortage, the dietary habits of North Korean residents have somewhat improved compared to the past. According to the "Status of Changes in North Korea's Economy and Society" released by the Ministry of Unification on the same day, a survey on the number of meals per day among North Korean residents showed that on average, 71.7% have three meals a day. Before 2000, only 32.1% responded that they had three meals a day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.