U.S. Assistance to North Korea (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised July 31, 2008 |
| Report Number |
RS21834 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Mark E. Manyin and Mary Beth Nikitin, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
-
Premium Revised July 7, 2008 (6 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium Revised Jan. 3, 2007 (6 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium Revised Oct. 11, 2006 (6 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium Revised Jan. 31, 2006 (6 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium Feb. 11, 2005 (4 pages, $24.95)
add
|
Summary:
Since 1995, the United States has provided over $1 billion in foreign assistance to the Democratic Peopleâs Republic of North Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea). About 60% has taken the form of food aid and about 40% was energy assistance channeled through the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), the multilateral organization established in 1994 to provide energy aid in exchange for North Koreaâs pledge of that year to halt its existing nuclear program. This report provides statistical details of U.S. aid to North Korea, including the $100,000 pledged in April 2004 to help survivors of a massive train explosion in the northwestern town of Ryongchon. As the table in the report shows, U.S. assistance to North Korea has fallen significantly over the past two years. In the fall of 2004, the North Korean government began restricting the activities of many humanitarian activities, including some of those by the World Food Program (WFP). Administration officials, including President Bush, have indicated that United States assistance might be forthcoming if North Korea began dismantling its nuclear programs, a subject being discussed in the six-party talks. The 108th Congress passed, and President Bush signed, H.R. 4011 (P.L. 108-333), the North Korean Human Rights Act, which includes hortatory language calling for âsignificant increasesâ above current levels of U.S. support for humanitarian assistance to be conditioned upon âsubstantial improvementsâ in transparency, monitoring, and access. Pyongyang has cited the Act as evidence of the United Statesâ âhostile policyâ toward North Korea and has used it as justification to suspend its participation in the six-party talks. This report will be updated periodically to track changes in U.S. provision of aid to North Korea. A more extended description and analysis of aid to North Korea, including assistance provided by other countries, is provided in CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report RL31785, âU.S. Assistance to North Koreaâ, by Mark Manyin.
