Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04BRUSSELS4630
2004-10-27 10:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Brussels
Cable title:  

EU RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON DPRK FOOD AID

Tags:  EAID KN PREL WFP USEU BRUSSELS 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 004630 

SIPDIS

ROME PLEASE PASS FODAG;
SECSTATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID/PPC - DWORKEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2014
TAGS: EAID KN PREL WFP USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: EU RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON DPRK FOOD AID

REF: SECSTATE 229053

Classified By: USEU DEVELOPMENT COUNSELOR PATRICIA J. LERNER, REASONS 1
.4 B,D

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 004630

SIPDIS

ROME PLEASE PASS FODAG;
SECSTATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID/PPC - DWORKEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2014
TAGS: EAID KN PREL WFP USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: EU RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON DPRK FOOD AID

REF: SECSTATE 229053

Classified By: USEU DEVELOPMENT COUNSELOR PATRICIA J. LERNER, REASONS 1
.4 B,D


1. (C) Summary: Development Counselor presented reftel
demarche to Xavier Guillou at DG AIDCO Food Security Unit and
Maria Castillo-Fernandez, DG RELEX Desk Officer for DPRK.
Both were receptive to demarche, had been in North Korea
recently, largely agreed with US assessment of issues with
some nuanced differences, and welcomed offer of a dialogue on
this critical issue following the November 13 Troika visit to
Pyongyang. End Summary.


2. (C) DG AIDCO's Food Security Unit person responsible for
North Korea, Xavier Guillou, is just back in Brussels from a
three week mission in DPRK. Guillou largely agrees with the
US assessment of the situation in North Korea. He noted the
EC has not provided food aid for the past two years based on
a similar assessment of needs, access and competing
priorities, and given large bilateral contributions from
China, South Korea and Japan. As a result the EC has found
it more cost-effective to focus on agricultural
rehabilitation (providing agricultural materials) and food
security programs worth euros 8 million in 2003 and euros 5
million in 2004. The budget is not likely to increase to the
historically high levels of 1995 -96. On access and
monitoring, Guillou agreed the situation was extremely
difficult because of the specific features of the
distribution system developed in North Korea over the past
fifty years. Guillou suggested donor responses are not
always based on needs alone, given the "massive food aid
program" which the Japanese are providing, which in his view
has little to do with "need." Guillou believes the situation
is far different from 1996-97 because there has been a
limited recovery in agricultural production and therefore the
EC is not convinced food aid is necessarily the most adequate
tool given the limitations of monitoring, especially after
ten years.


3. (C) DG RELEX Desk Officer for DPRK Maria
Castillo-Fernandez is well versed in the US position on food
aid to DPRK and very much aware of the situation in the DPRK
since the September 15 shift in policy on monitoring food aid
and the humanitarian situation. An EU Regional
Directors-level Troika will be traveling to Pyongyang
November 13 and will raise the issue of monitoring food aid,
which is high on the EU agenda. That said, the EC is not
aware of any practical implications for EU NGOs as a result
of DPRK policies. Castillo-Fernandez was in DPRK recently
and visited a number of sites. Her view was that WFP access
has increased significantly over the last two years. Her
sense was that the monitoring has perhaps been too intrusive
and culturally insensitive. Questions such as "what do you
eat?" and "what's in your cabinet?" have provoked strong
reaction from the local beneficiaries who do not want people
asking such questions in DPRK, any more than they would like
that in Europe. That said, Castillo-Fernandez acknowledged
that high ranking DPRK officials have used this local
reaction to impose security restrictions. She seemed to
think the September discussion of whether there needed to be
a CAP (Consolidated Appeals Process) or not, was not
important as there are plenty of countries where we work
without a CAP. Politically, DPRK knows development
assistance won't come until the nuclear issues are resolved.
In terms of programming assistance, the EC does not view DPRK
as an emergency humanitarian situation, but rather as a
post-emergency transitional situation where development
assistance may be more what they need.


4. (C) Castillo-Fernandez noted there are many issues to
discuss, and proposed to take up some of them in the context
of the November 9 visit to Brussels of US Special Envoy
Joseph DeTrani. She further suggested more detailed food aid
dialogue following the November 13 Troika visit to Pyongyang,
when the EU will have a better idea of the situation.


SCHNABEL