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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Jean-Jacques of the World Food Program
Aired January 18, 2003 - 07:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: When faced with the economic choice between guns and butter, the leadership in North Korea has always chosen the former. The country is the most militarized in the world. A quarter of its gross domestic product spent on the army. The standing army numbers a million, while perhaps as many as three million or more North Koreans died of starvation in the past decade.
Clearly the nation needs food aid. But should food be used as leverage in a high-stakes nuclear standoff?
Jean-Jacques Graisse of the World Food Program, joining us from New York to discuss the situation.
Mr. Graisse, good to have you with us.
JEAN-JACQUES GRAISSE, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Thank you. Good to be here.
O'BRIEN: First of all, is the situation getting any better there as it relates to food and famine?
GRAISSE: The situation (UNINTELLIGIBLE) gets any better in the coming months. We had harvest in September-October, and we will have to wait for the next one for quite a number of months. The reserve, the possibilities of the North Koreans to feed themselves are going to go down as the months go by. And basically what we are concerned with are the children of North Korea. And they can't wait.
O'BRIEN: Well, Mr. Graisse, when does it become critical, then? In other words, when do they run out of food from their harvest in the fall?
GRAISSE: At this particular moment, let's not forget that we are focusing essentially our assistance on mothers, children in kindergarten, children in institutions and in primary schools.
Our food for them, to feed about 6 million of them, has run out already, and we have to cut back our reserves to feed the people over a few more weeks until new food comes in the country.
At present we are not touching more than two to three million children, and that is where the problem is severe, because we have had any -- hardly any contribution announced for the year 2003.
O'BRIEN: To what extent do you think food aid should be used as a bargaining chip, as this crisis unfolds?
GRAISSE: I don't believe it will. I think that the administration position has been that humanitarian assistance will be free from any political considerations. I believe that the U.S. government wants some guarantees that the food will actually reach the intended beneficiaries, and they're-
O'BRIEN: Well, that's a good point. Is -- because there's a lot of -- of course, it's hard to root out what really is going on in North Korea, very secretive regime, obviously. But there's a lot of evidence that this food doesn't end up where it should be.
GRAISSE: No, I don't think so. The evidence that it reaches the children that we are supposed to feed, you have seen it in the film that you passed a few minutes ago. You saw these emaciated shy children. Those are the children that we discovered and found in 1996 at the beginning of the crisis, when we finally were admitted in North Korea.
At present, we have more than 50 international staff members in North Korea doing monitoring all over the country.
O'BRIEN: And what are they telling you right now?
GRAISSE: And they are telling us that these children that you have seen a few moments ago are no longer in that shape. Those that we meet today in the primary schools, in the nurseries, in the kindergartens are full of life, are much more healthy than they used to be. There has been substantial improvement in their nutritional condition.
What we are hoping is that we are not going to see these horrible pictures again in the coming months.
O'BRIEN: And when, when the harvest runs out, is it possible we will be seeing that? And what should the West do about that, given the regime's stance on nuclear weaponry?
GRAISSE: I believe that it was President Reagan who said that the child knows of no politics. Well, I think that those people that we are trying to help, the six million of them that we are hoping to be able to help, again, are indeed not to be further victims of such negotiations. And I believe that a bit of realism on both sides will permit these victims of war, of regimes, to survive in a much better condition than they are at present.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Graisse, do you think that the famine that they have witnessed there over the past decade is purely the result of the regime, or is it circumstances beyond the control of the North Koreans, numerous floods, for example?
GRAISSE: A series of factors. It became very serious, and we were asked to come in after the floods of September 1995, summer of 1995. The point is that this is a country which is not in -- a country that should survive on agricultural production of its own, it is a country which traditionally was an industrial country. Their partners were the former Soviet Union.
When that partnership collapsed because of the collapse of the Soviet Union, they did no longer have export markets for the industrial products that they used to have, and therefore they were no longer capable to import all the food they needed.
So it's a combination of poor -- of history, of poor management, and of extreme weather conditions.
O'BRIEN: Jean-Jacques Graisse is with the World Food Program. Thank you very much for being with us on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
GRAISSE: Pleasure, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 18, 2003 - 07:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: When faced with the economic choice between guns and butter, the leadership in North Korea has always chosen the former. The country is the most militarized in the world. A quarter of its gross domestic product spent on the army. The standing army numbers a million, while perhaps as many as three million or more North Koreans died of starvation in the past decade.
Clearly the nation needs food aid. But should food be used as leverage in a high-stakes nuclear standoff?
Jean-Jacques Graisse of the World Food Program, joining us from New York to discuss the situation.
Mr. Graisse, good to have you with us.
JEAN-JACQUES GRAISSE, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Thank you. Good to be here.
O'BRIEN: First of all, is the situation getting any better there as it relates to food and famine?
GRAISSE: The situation (UNINTELLIGIBLE) gets any better in the coming months. We had harvest in September-October, and we will have to wait for the next one for quite a number of months. The reserve, the possibilities of the North Koreans to feed themselves are going to go down as the months go by. And basically what we are concerned with are the children of North Korea. And they can't wait.
O'BRIEN: Well, Mr. Graisse, when does it become critical, then? In other words, when do they run out of food from their harvest in the fall?
GRAISSE: At this particular moment, let's not forget that we are focusing essentially our assistance on mothers, children in kindergarten, children in institutions and in primary schools.
Our food for them, to feed about 6 million of them, has run out already, and we have to cut back our reserves to feed the people over a few more weeks until new food comes in the country.
At present we are not touching more than two to three million children, and that is where the problem is severe, because we have had any -- hardly any contribution announced for the year 2003.
O'BRIEN: To what extent do you think food aid should be used as a bargaining chip, as this crisis unfolds?
GRAISSE: I don't believe it will. I think that the administration position has been that humanitarian assistance will be free from any political considerations. I believe that the U.S. government wants some guarantees that the food will actually reach the intended beneficiaries, and they're-
O'BRIEN: Well, that's a good point. Is -- because there's a lot of -- of course, it's hard to root out what really is going on in North Korea, very secretive regime, obviously. But there's a lot of evidence that this food doesn't end up where it should be.
GRAISSE: No, I don't think so. The evidence that it reaches the children that we are supposed to feed, you have seen it in the film that you passed a few minutes ago. You saw these emaciated shy children. Those are the children that we discovered and found in 1996 at the beginning of the crisis, when we finally were admitted in North Korea.
At present, we have more than 50 international staff members in North Korea doing monitoring all over the country.
O'BRIEN: And what are they telling you right now?
GRAISSE: And they are telling us that these children that you have seen a few moments ago are no longer in that shape. Those that we meet today in the primary schools, in the nurseries, in the kindergartens are full of life, are much more healthy than they used to be. There has been substantial improvement in their nutritional condition.
What we are hoping is that we are not going to see these horrible pictures again in the coming months.
O'BRIEN: And when, when the harvest runs out, is it possible we will be seeing that? And what should the West do about that, given the regime's stance on nuclear weaponry?
GRAISSE: I believe that it was President Reagan who said that the child knows of no politics. Well, I think that those people that we are trying to help, the six million of them that we are hoping to be able to help, again, are indeed not to be further victims of such negotiations. And I believe that a bit of realism on both sides will permit these victims of war, of regimes, to survive in a much better condition than they are at present.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Graisse, do you think that the famine that they have witnessed there over the past decade is purely the result of the regime, or is it circumstances beyond the control of the North Koreans, numerous floods, for example?
GRAISSE: A series of factors. It became very serious, and we were asked to come in after the floods of September 1995, summer of 1995. The point is that this is a country which is not in -- a country that should survive on agricultural production of its own, it is a country which traditionally was an industrial country. Their partners were the former Soviet Union.
When that partnership collapsed because of the collapse of the Soviet Union, they did no longer have export markets for the industrial products that they used to have, and therefore they were no longer capable to import all the food they needed.
So it's a combination of poor -- of history, of poor management, and of extreme weather conditions.
O'BRIEN: Jean-Jacques Graisse is with the World Food Program. Thank you very much for being with us on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
GRAISSE: Pleasure, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
