[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 22, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5502-S5503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FOOD AID FOR NORTH KOREA

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, North Korea is considered today a 
rogue state--the last country with a Stalinist system and surely the 
most isolated country in the world. During the cold war, when we looked 
at other nations as enemies, we made clear that our differences with 
those nations were with their governments and not with their people. 
The same should be true of North Korea today.
  The food situation in North Korea is turning dire. There are reports 
of conditions approaching famine, caused by natural disasters, poor 
harvests, and economic mismanagement. The World Food Program, with 
personnel on the ground to assess conditions and monitor deliveries, is 
appealing for more food aid to avert a disaster. Hunger could lead to 
instability, which could cause desperate actions by the North Korean 
military, and that would be in no one's interest.
  The administration wisely granted $2 million in food aid earlier this 
year, but the situation has worsened, and we should do more. The 
following editorial from today's New York Times urges the President to 
put hunger above politics and provide food aid. That is the right thing 
to do--for humanitarian reasons and in the interest of reducing 
tensions on the Korean peninsula.
  I ask that the article be printed in the Record following my remarks.
  The article follows:

                [From the New York Times, May 22, 1996]

                       Famine Aid to North Korea

       Near-famine conditions in North Korea pose a moral and 
     political challenge to the United States and its allies. 
     America's goal should be to feed the hungry without 
     reinforcing the already dangerous military capacities of an 
     erratic, belligerent and poorly understood regime.
       This can be done by providing generous amounts of grain and 
     other basic foodstuffs, but insisting on a reasonable degree 
     of international monitoring to make sure the aid is 
     distributed throughout the country and not hoarded or sold by 
     the Communist Party and military elite.
       The United States has previously provided modest quantities 
     of aid through the United Nations World Food Program and 
     Unicef, both of which monitor deliveries. South Korea has 
     supplied more substantial aid through direct shipments. But 
     animosity on both sides of the 38th Parallel scuttled the 
     South Korean effort, and now Seoul is pressing Washington to 
     hold back as well. South Korea wants further food aid 
     suspended until North Korea accepts President Clinton's 
     recent proposal for four-way peace talks involving the two 
     Koreas, China and the United States.
       Bowing to that pressure would violate an admirable American 
     tradition of not using food as a diplomatic weapon. An entire 
     people should not be punished for the sins of their hard-line 
     Communist leaders. The United States joined other Western 
     donors in feeding Ethiopia during its famine in 1991-1992, 
     though its Marxist tyranny was no less unsavory. The same 
     principle should apply to North Korea if it is stricken by 
     widespread famine this summer, as a new United Nations alert 
     predicts.
       For most of its 50-year history, North Korea did all it 
     could be discourage trade and even humanitarian assistance 
     from the outside world. Fearing ideological contamination, 
     Pyongyang preached an extreme doctrine of self-reliance and 
     used its heavy-handed police apparatus to keep out all but a 
     few trusted Communist friends.
       But decades of economic mismanagement, political 
     uncertainties following the 1994 death of Kim II Sung and the 
     abrupt loss of Russian and Chinese support, combined with 
     disastrous flooding last year, have brought widespread 
     suffering and forced the regime to appeal for help.
       The Clinton Administration should grasp this opportunity to 
     put hunger above politics and advance its own policies of 
     cautious courtship of North Korea. The nuclear freeze 
     agreement the two countries reached in 1994 marked a 
     recognition by Washington that a nuanced combination of 
     military deterrence and diplomatic engagement offers the most 
     promising approach to maintaining security on the Korean 
     Peninsula.
       In present circumstances, humanitarian aid, military 
     deterrence and opening North Korea to fresh winds of change 
     all go together. The Clinton Administration would be right to 
     explore the possibilities.

[[Page S5503]]



 TRIBUTE TO TIMOTHY MARQUIS, JOANNE MILLETTE, SYMA MIRZA, AND KENNETH 
           JOHNSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1996 PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS

 Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate four 
outstanding New Hampshire high school students on receiving the 1996 
Presidential Scholar Award. Timothy Marquis and Joanne Millette from 
Winnacunnet High School in Hampton; and Syma Mirza and Kenneth Johnson 
from Alvirne High School in Hudson were all honored with this 
prestigious award.
  The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was founded by Executive order 
of the President in 1964 to recognize outstanding high school students 
in America. These four New Hampshire students should be very proud of 
this honor because the selection process is quite rigorous. Based on 
student scores from SAT and ACT testing, the top 20 men and women from 
each State are invited to apply for the Presidential Scholar Program. 
An independent review committee, composed of various academics such as 
guidance counselors and college admissions officers, then review the 
applications of these students and determine 500 semifinalists for the 
award. The committee uses a variety of criteria to evaluate each 
student such as personal character, academic achievement, leadership 
service in school as well as the community, and an essay analysis. From 
the pool of semifinalists a 32-member commission appointed by the 
President chooses 141 scholars to be honored for their accomplishments 
during National Recognition Week.
  These four hard working New Hampshire students will be guests of the 
White House Commission on Presidential Scholars in Washington, DC, from 
June 18 through June 23. While in Washington, the students will be 
involved in various activities such as informative panel discussions, a 
ceremony at the White House, and an evening at the Kennedy Center 
featuring performances by the Scholars in the Performing Arts.
  As a former high school teacher myself, I applaud the hard work and 
dedication of Timothy, Joanne, Syma, and Kenneth. Their outstanding 
academic performance have won them this distinguished national honor. I 
commend these special students for achieving excellence in their 
schools and communities, and wish them great success in their future 
endeavors. Their contributions to New Hampshire and the Nation serve as 
a role model for others to follow.

                          ____________________