DUTCH VIEWS ON U.S.-EU DPRK HUMANITARIAN AID

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 002871 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/UBI/HOLLIDAY AND EUR/ERA/VOLKER USEU FOR PATRICIA LERNER E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2014 TAGS: EAID PREL KN NL WFP SUBJECT: DUTCH VIEWS ON U.S.-EU DPRK HUMANITARIAN AID DISCUSSIONS REF: 229053 Classified By: Ambassador Clifford M. Sobel for reasons 1.4 B, D. ¶1. (C) Emboffs met with Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director for Humanitarian Affairs Joost Andriesson and DPRK desk officer Robert Dressen. They thanked emboffs for sharing reftel talking points and welcomed the possibility of further discussions on humanitarian assistance to North Korea. A director-level EU troika will visit Pyongyang November 13-16, ¶2004. In addition to nuclear issues, human rights, economic reforms and inter-Korean relations, at Dutch request they will also raise humanitarian assistance monitoring. The troika will emphasize the importance of UN consolidated appeals, coordinated humanitarian aid, better monitoring and free access and movement by NGOs. ¶2. (C) The Dutch told us they routinely request greater humanitarian aid monitoring and access of DPRK embassy officials who call at the ministry. The GONL contributes 25 million Euros annually to the World Food Program (WFP),some of which goes to the DPRK for humanitarian relief operations. Andriesson told us he consistently dangles additional, bi-lateral humanitarian relief funds before his DPRK interlocutors but explains North Korea is not eligible for this money because of their governance, monitoring and access shortcomings. Just like with U.S. officials, DPRK officers typically respond with gratitude, yet cordially stress their desire for bi-lateral development assistance over multi-lateral humanitarian aid. ¶3. (C) Andriesson shared some of his insights on the North Koreans. He told us that EU heads of missions in the DPRK believe the North Koreans do not distinguish between international aid distribution staff and monitors: all expatriates involved in the distribution of humanitarian assistance in the DPRK are considered to be monitoring. Furthermore, he thinks the Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee staff are, on the whole, sympathetic to calls for greater monitoring and access, but that they are constrained by political decision makers in Pyongyang. SOBEL