Alex Jensen
02 October 2015•Update: 03 October 2015
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
A South Korean parliamentary report claimed Friday that North Korea “needs” outside help to cut its high infant mortality rate, just hours after United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon insisted that his organization is committed to providing the reclusive state with humanitarian assistance.
The promise came during a meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong, who was in the United States for the latest U.N. General Assembly session.
Meanwhile in Seoul, the National Assembly Research Service presented data showing that the North’s infant mortality rate was over six times higher than that of its southern neighbor -- representing a sharp divergence since the two sides split following World War II.
23.68 babies out of every 1,000 passed away before their first birthday in North Korea last year, with the report blaming "shortages in critical drugs and medical equipment".
The U.N. had already issued a call for $111 million in a report earlier this year, after annual funding for its North Korea-based agencies fell from $300 million in 2004 to less than $50 million in the space of a decade.
The stark reality, the U.N. claimed, was that around 70 percent of North Koreans lack secure food sources and around a quarter of the population also have no access to essential medical care.
Providing aid to the North has been a fraught international issue because of the nuclear weapon ambitions of its authoritarian leadership.
South Korea and the U.S. have already stated that they will take firm action -- such as strengthened sanctions -- if Pyongyang goes ahead with its announced goal of launching satellites, which the country is banned from doing under U.N. resolutions.
According to Ban’s office, he also urged the Koreas to build cooperation following August’s breakthough agreement between representatives of Seoul and Pyongyang.
