60,000 North Korean children may starve, sanctions slow aid: UNICEF

Last week the United States announced fresh sanctions on nine entities, 16 people and six North Korean ships it accused of helping the weapons programmes.

By: Reuters | Geneva | Updated: January 30, 2018 9:29 pm

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UNICEF is one of only a few aid agencies with access to the isolated country, which suffered famine in the mid-1990s that killed up to three million people. Picture for representation purpose (Source – AP)

An estimated 60,000 children face potential starvation in North Korea, where international sanctions are exacerbating the situation by slowing aid deliveries, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. World powers have imposed growing sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Last week the United States announced fresh sanctions on nine entities, 16 people and six North Korean ships it accused of helping the weapons programmes, reports news agency Reuters.

Under United Nations Security Council resolutions, humanitarian supplies or operations are exempt from sanctions, Omar Abdi, UNICEF deputy executive director, said. “But what happens is that of course the banks, the companies that provide goods or ship goods are very careful. They don’t want to take any risk of later on being associated (with) breaking the sanctions,” Abdi told a news briefing. “That is what makes it more difficult for us to bring things. So it takes a little bit longer, especially in getting money into the country. But also in shipping goods to DPRK. There are not many shipping lines that operate in that area,” he said, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.