Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BEIJING2812
2009-10-03 00:25:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:
NORTH KOREA: UPDATE ON UNDP AND WORLD FOOD PROGRAM
how-toP 030025Z OCT 09 FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6310 INFO CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY COMUSKOREA INTEL SEOUL KOR PRIORITY CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY NSC WASHDC PRIORITY JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 002812
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/K, EAP/CM, INR
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2029
TAGS: EAID EAGR ECON PREL KN CH
SUBJECT: NORTH KOREA: UPDATE ON UNDP AND WORLD FOOD PROGRAM
ACTIVITIES
REF: (A) 07 USUNNEWYORK 172 (B) BEIJING 1843
Classified By: Acting Economics Minister-Counselor Robert W. Forden.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 002812
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/K, EAP/CM, INR
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2029
TAGS: EAID EAGR ECON PREL KN CH
SUBJECT: NORTH KOREA: UPDATE ON UNDP AND WORLD FOOD PROGRAM
ACTIVITIES
REF: (A) 07 USUNNEWYORK 172 (B) BEIJING 1843
Classified By: Acting Economics Minister-Counselor Robert W. Forden.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
Summary
--------------
1. (C) The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is
preparing to restart its program in North Korea, a World Food
Program (WFP) official in Beijing told Econoffs (the UNDP
office here declined to confirm this report),and Chinese
officials have, for the first time ever, asked WFP for
briefings on its work in the DPRK. WFP has received no
external funding for its North Korea program since May 2009
(when the DPRK conducted a nuclear test) but is hopeful that
some countries are considering resuming donations. Our WFP
contact told us that the UNFPA's recent census, which will be
released later in October, will show no significant
population change in the DPRK, and noted increased numbers of
Chinese inher recent trips to North Korea. End summary.
UNDP Operations to Resume in North Korea?
--------------
2. (C) Lena Savelli, WFP's Beijing-based DPRK coordinator,
told EconOffs September 25 that the UNDP planned to resume
operations in Pyongyang, a process that had been put
unofficially on hold since the May 2009 nuclear and missile
tests. (Note: EconOff contacted a member of the UNDP office
in Beijing, who confirmed that the UNDP had been authorized
to return to North Korea, but declined to provide further
details, saying he could only pass questions to UNDP
headquarters in New York.) Savelli said a UNDP employee had
been sent to renovate the old UNDP property in Pyongyang, and
that despite the delays, she expected the UNDP to be up and
running by 2010, possibly with a new resident coordinator.
(Background: The UNDP in early 2007 suspended operations
after the DPRK refused to accept a revised country program
agreement that would have restricted the use of hard currency
in the country -- see ref A.) She noted that the UN
currently had only five agencies working in Pyongyang: WFP;
UNICEF; WHO; UNFPA; and FAO.
PRC Curious About WFP Work in DPRK
--------------
3. (C) Savelli said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA) never shares information on the value of Chinese aid
sent to North Korea with WFP. Nevertheless, for the first
time ever, the MFA in Beijing and the PRC Embassy in
Pyongyang had recently invited WFP to brief them on WFP's
DPRK programs and in-country findings. Following the
briefing, the PRC Embassy then contacted WFP again to ask for
more reports on the DPRK. Savelli also mentioned that she
had been asked by Chinese television stations to do several
interviews on North Korea this past spring, an extremely rare
occurrence. Though not optimistic that this augured greater
Chinese openness on Sino-DPRK economic relations, she flagged
these as noteworthy developments.
WFP Programs
--------------
4. (C) Since briefing U.S. officials in July (ref B) on its
work within North Korea, WFP had expanded the area it
serviced from 57 counties to 62 counties. Otherwise there
had been no significant changes in its DPRK program. WFP
distributed 3,000-4,000 tons of food a month to 1.7 million
people, only 10-18 percent of its program goals, due to lack
of funding for more food. Savelli said there was a clear
link between the value of WFP's donations and the number of
staff the DPRK allowed into the country. The current program
would expire in November 2009, but WFP planned to extend the
program long enough to use 2009 fall harvest and new census
data to inform its next program proposal. She said the WFP
planned to shift from its current emergency funding to a
protracted relief and recovery program next year, which was
in line with the DPRK's preference to not be categorized as a
humanitarian crisis zone.
5. (C) Savelli said that WFP had not received any donations
for its DPRK program since May 2009, but that the UN Office
of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA)'s
Central Emergency Resource Fund (CERF) had allocated USD 9
million from its centralized pool of funds to the UN's DPRK
country team, 6 million of which would go to the WFP. She
noted that the USD 9 million was the largest single
allocation of CERF funds to any country this year. She said
that, despite public silence from donor countries after the
May nuclear test, she recently had seen an uptick in interest
from South Korea, Russia, and Australia, and opined that
potential donors would feel that enough time had passed for
them to consider resuming donations. Still, WFP had not yet
received any funding commitments. Savelli said potential
donors, like WFP, were likely waiting to assess the fall
harvest before making decisions.
DPRK Population Census
--------------
6. (C) Savelli pointed out that the DPRK had completed its
recent population census with UNFPA's assistance, and that
the UNFPA would release its report in October. She said that
the basic population count probably would remain at 24
million people. Despite UNFPA's lack of countrywide access,
she added, it had received detailed counts from the DPRK
government, and the data to date did not show dramatic
differences from the last census. She noted that UNFPA
thought the census "went well" but she declined to give
further details before the census was published.
7. (C) Savelli discussed current conditions in the DPRK,
noting she had heard rumors that unspecified authorities had
shut down one of Pyongyang's largest markets. She was unable
to confirm this rumor but noted that when she was in
Pyongyang in May 2009, she was able to get "anything she
wanted." She said the supply chain from China to North Korea
was not smooth, but that she continued to find many imported
goods, including Japanese products that were routed through
China. Savelli also said she had been traveling to North
Korea for five years, and in the last six months had noticed
a significant increase in the numbers of Chinese in
Pyongyang's hotels and restaurants.
HUNTSMAN
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/K, EAP/CM, INR
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2029
TAGS: EAID EAGR ECON PREL KN CH
SUBJECT: NORTH KOREA: UPDATE ON UNDP AND WORLD FOOD PROGRAM
ACTIVITIES
REF: (A) 07 USUNNEWYORK 172 (B) BEIJING 1843
Classified By: Acting Economics Minister-Counselor Robert W. Forden.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
Summary
--------------
1. (C) The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is
preparing to restart its program in North Korea, a World Food
Program (WFP) official in Beijing told Econoffs (the UNDP
office here declined to confirm this report),and Chinese
officials have, for the first time ever, asked WFP for
briefings on its work in the DPRK. WFP has received no
external funding for its North Korea program since May 2009
(when the DPRK conducted a nuclear test) but is hopeful that
some countries are considering resuming donations. Our WFP
contact told us that the UNFPA's recent census, which will be
released later in October, will show no significant
population change in the DPRK, and noted increased numbers of
Chinese inher recent trips to North Korea. End summary.
UNDP Operations to Resume in North Korea?
--------------
2. (C) Lena Savelli, WFP's Beijing-based DPRK coordinator,
told EconOffs September 25 that the UNDP planned to resume
operations in Pyongyang, a process that had been put
unofficially on hold since the May 2009 nuclear and missile
tests. (Note: EconOff contacted a member of the UNDP office
in Beijing, who confirmed that the UNDP had been authorized
to return to North Korea, but declined to provide further
details, saying he could only pass questions to UNDP
headquarters in New York.) Savelli said a UNDP employee had
been sent to renovate the old UNDP property in Pyongyang, and
that despite the delays, she expected the UNDP to be up and
running by 2010, possibly with a new resident coordinator.
(Background: The UNDP in early 2007 suspended operations
after the DPRK refused to accept a revised country program
agreement that would have restricted the use of hard currency
in the country -- see ref A.) She noted that the UN
currently had only five agencies working in Pyongyang: WFP;
UNICEF; WHO; UNFPA; and FAO.
PRC Curious About WFP Work in DPRK
--------------
3. (C) Savelli said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA) never shares information on the value of Chinese aid
sent to North Korea with WFP. Nevertheless, for the first
time ever, the MFA in Beijing and the PRC Embassy in
Pyongyang had recently invited WFP to brief them on WFP's
DPRK programs and in-country findings. Following the
briefing, the PRC Embassy then contacted WFP again to ask for
more reports on the DPRK. Savelli also mentioned that she
had been asked by Chinese television stations to do several
interviews on North Korea this past spring, an extremely rare
occurrence. Though not optimistic that this augured greater
Chinese openness on Sino-DPRK economic relations, she flagged
these as noteworthy developments.
WFP Programs
--------------
4. (C) Since briefing U.S. officials in July (ref B) on its
work within North Korea, WFP had expanded the area it
serviced from 57 counties to 62 counties. Otherwise there
had been no significant changes in its DPRK program. WFP
distributed 3,000-4,000 tons of food a month to 1.7 million
people, only 10-18 percent of its program goals, due to lack
of funding for more food. Savelli said there was a clear
link between the value of WFP's donations and the number of
staff the DPRK allowed into the country. The current program
would expire in November 2009, but WFP planned to extend the
program long enough to use 2009 fall harvest and new census
data to inform its next program proposal. She said the WFP
planned to shift from its current emergency funding to a
protracted relief and recovery program next year, which was
in line with the DPRK's preference to not be categorized as a
humanitarian crisis zone.
5. (C) Savelli said that WFP had not received any donations
for its DPRK program since May 2009, but that the UN Office
of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA)'s
Central Emergency Resource Fund (CERF) had allocated USD 9
million from its centralized pool of funds to the UN's DPRK
country team, 6 million of which would go to the WFP. She
noted that the USD 9 million was the largest single
allocation of CERF funds to any country this year. She said
that, despite public silence from donor countries after the
May nuclear test, she recently had seen an uptick in interest
from South Korea, Russia, and Australia, and opined that
potential donors would feel that enough time had passed for
them to consider resuming donations. Still, WFP had not yet
received any funding commitments. Savelli said potential
donors, like WFP, were likely waiting to assess the fall
harvest before making decisions.
DPRK Population Census
--------------
6. (C) Savelli pointed out that the DPRK had completed its
recent population census with UNFPA's assistance, and that
the UNFPA would release its report in October. She said that
the basic population count probably would remain at 24
million people. Despite UNFPA's lack of countrywide access,
she added, it had received detailed counts from the DPRK
government, and the data to date did not show dramatic
differences from the last census. She noted that UNFPA
thought the census "went well" but she declined to give
further details before the census was published.
7. (C) Savelli discussed current conditions in the DPRK,
noting she had heard rumors that unspecified authorities had
shut down one of Pyongyang's largest markets. She was unable
to confirm this rumor but noted that when she was in
Pyongyang in May 2009, she was able to get "anything she
wanted." She said the supply chain from China to North Korea
was not smooth, but that she continued to find many imported
goods, including Japanese products that were routed through
China. Savelli also said she had been traveling to North
Korea for five years, and in the last six months had noticed
a significant increase in the numbers of Chinese in
Pyongyang's hotels and restaurants.
HUNTSMAN