MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO NORTH KOREA: NGO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 000662

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER, RICHARD MILES, KURT TONG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID KN
SUBJECT: MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO NORTH KOREA: NGO
EUGENEBELL'S VIEWPOINT

Classified By: POL M/C Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b/d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Chairman of the EugeneBell Foundation Stephen Linton,
whose Seoul-based organization has provided over USD 25
million worth of medical and other assistance to North Korea
since 1995, said that:

-- experience had taught him that the best way to provide
such aid was in the form of integrated "packages," such as
medicines, equipment and documentation needed to treat
tuberculosis patients at a particular hospital;

-- electrical systems at hospitals are extremely primitive
both in terms of electrical supply and faulty wiring, so that
EugeneBell insists that its donated equipment connect only to
the small generators it also donates;

-- the DPRK government would be particularly attracted to
medical assistance that includes "rolling stock" such as
ambulances and any equipment perceived as high-tech, but that
medicines or vaccines would hold little appeal, since they
are available from UN organizations or the ROKG. End Summary.

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PACKAGES OF ASSISTANCE
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2. (U) The EugeneBell Foundation has provided over USD 25
million in assistance, mostly medical, to the DPRK since it
was established in 1995: USD 10 million in infectious
disease (tubercolosis and hepatitis B) medicine, diagnostic
assistance and equipment; USD 8 million in other medical
assistance; USD 4 million in food assistance; and almost USD
1 million in agricultural assistance. Funds come from
donations as well as from the ROKG (USD 4 million during
2000-2005). The Foundation's staff makes frequent visits to
the DPRK and has developed extensive contacts in rural areas.
Chairman Stephen Linton told us during a March 5 meeting
that his organization has worked with 46 hospitals and
tubercolosis clinics in four areas: North and South Pyongan
Provinces, Pyongyang City, and Nampo City, covering one-third
of North Korea's population.


3. (C) Linton said he had learned from experience to provide
aid in integrated "packages" whose components work together,
such as a complete kit that will allow a local hospital to
provide diagnosis and treatment for tuberculosis. If part of
the kit is stolen, the treatment will not work, so officials
are motivated to protect it (and many potential thieves are
scared to go near TB hospitals lest they get infected).
Medicine or equipment provided in bulk, he says, gets
siphoned off at each stage, much of it resold in China or
elsewhere. Over time, Linton said he has learned that
working directly with local officials -- who are eager to
upgrade their hospitals and very resentful of what they see
as the Pyongyang-centric central government -- is far better
than relying on the central government's Public Health
Ministry, which sees offers of medical assistance in terms of
potential cash benefits. One had to be aware that local
officials, too, see medical aid in terms of its potential
economic benefits. For example, EugeneBell provides each of
the hospitals it assists with a small truck to pick up
donated equipment; these trucks are clearly rented out or
used elsewhere since they end up with high mileage. He
cautioned that nationwide monitoring of any assistance
program to the DPRK would be difficult, noting that North
Korea's farthest northeastern province of North Hamgyong was
three days drive each way from the Pyongyang area.


4. (C) Having focused primarily on tuberculosis and hepatitis
B treatment to date, the Foundation is proposing a broader
program of "community health" assistance to local hospitals
that would require hospital staff to complete a
Korean-language study module before qualifying for a
"children's care package" or "maternal and infant care
package." Linton said that most of the 400-500 local
hospitals currently can do little more than provide emergency
surgery (usually without anesthetics),and have few beds and

little capacity to care for patients.

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ELECTRICITY IS A PROBLEM
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5. (C) Linton said that EugeneBell provides small
five-horsepower (3,700 watt) diesel-fueled electrical
generators as part of its packages to local hospitals.
Because hospital electrical power from the DPRK grid is
available only sporadically (often only two hours per day,
making reliable refrigeration impossible),is of bad quality
(fluctuating between 40-55 cycles/second, which ruins
equipment),and because of faulty wiring and circuits, the
Foundation insists that its donated equipment operate only
when connected to these generators. The generators are also
a robust model that is capable of operating on the very
low-quality diesel fuel available in North Korea.


6. (C) Linton said that he had been in touch with USAID about
the possibility of providing larger 50 kilowatt or 150
kilowatt diesel generators to operate ten entire hospitals
where the Foundation already has projects ongoing. The
proposal also calls for voltage stabilization equipment and
rewiring of key circuits. Linton suggested that these larger
generators would also require a reliable supply of good
diesel fuel -- which tends to be unavailable in the DPRK.

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AID THAT WOULD APPEAL TO DPRK GOVERNMENT
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7. (C) Linton volunteered that the DPRK government is
focusing on receiving heavy fuel oil (HFO) in exchange for
implementing the February 13 agreement because officials most
want fuel: if they cannot refine HFO for use in vehicles,
they can at least barter it to China in exchange for diesel
fuel. That said, the DPRK government could also be
interested in medical aid that had a "rolling stock" aspect,
such as ambulances, or in any medical equipment that appears
to be high-tech. In that context, he said that DPRK
officials might like the idea of solar panels to provide
electricity to hospitals. Solar energy has potential in the
North because hydorelectric power is available in parts of
the country in the cloudy/rainy summer, whereas the winter
tends to be clear.


8. (C) Asked if the DPRK would be receptive to receiving
antibiotics, vaccines or other basic medicines, Linton said
he doubted it, because such supplies are readily available
from UN agencies or from the ROKG, and their end-use is
usually poorly monitored, which is the way officials like it.
He said his foundation once proposed a country-wide
vaccination program for DPRK elementary-school students,
because 98 percent of children attend school, but the DPRK
government refused the program because officials wanted to
continue receiving (salable) medicines and refrigeration
equipment from UNICEF's Global Alliance for Vaccines and
Immunization.
VERSHBOW