S Korea approves $8 million aid to N Korea; timing to be decided later

I just hope the aid really arrives to civilians... I doubt it, but I hope...

It's 8mil worth of aid not 8mil cash. Things like food, pencils, push mowers for harvesting grass. It's a good move as it dangles a communication opportunity. The timing of its arrival is upto the North playing a little ball I imagine. Winter is coming always a hard time for the impoverished North.

SOMEONE in this world knows that clearly the sanctions and bombast aren't working. Glad to see there's an adult in the room.

Good move!

I feel sorry for the North Korean people's plight but aid like that won't help them long-term. The world needs to be united to topple the N.Korean regime quickly and free the N. Korean people out of the tyranny they are under so they can enjoy the freedoms and opportunities of their South Korean counterparts.

Laugh all you want at the dangers of weed whackers, wood pencils, and fluffy blankets. I'll bet a good kung fu director (or dastardly dictator) could turn all those things into kickbutt weapons.

I think this is just dumb and misguided.  Typical of the disjointed and inconsistent approach to sorting out the NK issue.  Either starve them into submission or leave them alone.  but leaning on them, sanctioning them and then sending aid is just stupid.

It's better than saber-rattling.

I tend to think that given autonomy and support, SK's President Moom Jae-In can do a lot to help ease tensions in the peninsular and help build relations. Lest we forget, North Korea has no less sovereign rights than any other country in the world, this ought to be the starting point for any meaningful relationship with it..

WakarimasenSep. 21  06:01 pm JST

I think this is just dumb and misguided. Typical of the disjointed and inconsistent approach to sorting out the NK issue. Either starve them into submission or leave them alone. but leaning on them, sanctioning them and then sending aid is just stupid.

Think it through: in dictatorships, the people at the top never starve. The people at the bottom are very rarely capable of overthrowing the people at the top, especially if they're also starving. Revolutions rarely start from the bottom of society, and when they do they often spin out of control. Successful regime change happens when you turn the middle against the top.

If sanctions are designed with a shred of thought (not always a guarantee, unfortunately!) they hit the people at the top in a way that humiliates them to the people in the middle rather than threatening anyone's life. Not having to kill anyone is after all why modern societies use sanctions instead of wars to influence enemies.

The lower classes in North Korea are so indoctrinated that we've had refugees claiming to have believed the Kims could read their minds telepathically from across the country, but it seems likely that the people higher up are much more pragmatic in their beliefs (hence, Kim Jong Un wouldn't have to keep executing them for disloyalty). The only real way the boy tyrant can keep enough generals, engineers, scientists, and government bureaucrats loyal enough to exert pressure on everyone else is by promising all these people a lifestyle that's better than everyone else's in exchange. If he can no longer do that, his support should crumble. Hence, sanctions plus humanitarian aid.

Well, I'm no nuclear physicist, but I'm fairly sure you can't build a nuclear warhead or delivery system out of rice, water bottles, bandaids, and blankets.

@katsu78: I know this $8 million is in the form of actual aid items, however that is $8 million less that the NK government has to spend on helping its population this year and can now be spent on its nuclear program. This is why I think this is a shockingly silly idea and indirectly could finance its nuclear program

Good move on the part of the South. I just hope credit is given where credit is due and Mr. KIM JONG UN won't steal the thunder...

dcog9065Today  03:20 pm JST

Is there any guarantee whatsoever that this $8 million wouldn't be taken by the NK government who would undoubtedly spend on its nuclear program?

Well, I'm no nuclear physicist, but I'm fairly sure you can't build a nuclear warhead or delivery system out of rice, water bottles, bandaids, and blankets.

Is there any guarantee whatsoever that this $8 million wouldn't be taken by the NK government who would undoubtedly spend on its nuclear program? If not, then this proposed aid package is one of the most ill-conceived ideas I've ever heard and raises serious questions about the current SK government

I feel sorry for the North Korean people's plight but aid like that won't help them long-term.

Who knows, "$4.5 million worth of nutritional products for children and pregnant women through the World Food Program and $3.5 million worth of vaccines and medicinal treatments through UNICEF" might just help save a few lives.

I think it's a great move.