HUMANITARIAN AID TO NORTH KOREA AND THE CHALLENGE OF REFORM

In the mid 1990s, aslowly developing, yet profoundly deep-seated crisis struck North Korea, leading to steady deterioration of the economy and continued widespread suffering. The roots of the crisis can be found in systemic problems associated with a centrally planned economy coupled with a decades-long philosophy of isolation from the outside world. Ironically, pre-crisis, North Korea s stubborn independence from the outside world to ensure its survival has made it, post-crisis, increasingly more dependent on the outside world to ensure its survival. This has presented the North Korean regime with the difficult choice of whether to engage in systemic reforms that are being urged by both long-standing patrons such as China as well as newer patrons such as South Korea and the wider international community. We examine the roots of its ongoing crisis, and how the North Korean government has chosen to respond. Particular attention is given to how the international community has also chosen to respond, and how theactivities of the international community may affect limited reform efforts in North Korea.