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Famine Update: This NKZone post by Scott Bruce, consisting of interviews with key WPF officials, is must-reading despite its length. About halfway through the post, I came to this quotation:
It was reported in the press a few weeks back that the government had decided to close the OCHA office in Pyongyang. I was assured categorically and repeatedly by authoritative officials from the foreign ministry that there has been no decision to close the OCHA office in the DPRK. They made that very clear to me and asked me to pass that on to our colleagues at the UN in New York, Geneva and Rome, and also to all of you. The OCHA office in the DPRK is not being closed.
I certainly hope that’s true. Much more interesting reading within the post suggests that some local North Korean officials are taking real risks to feed people in their districts despite pressure one can infer from the central government to control access. It’s also more apparent than ever that the much-touted “reforms” are enriching a few well-connected North Koreans at the expense of the many.
As I said, must-reading.