Conditionality in Humanitariaj Aid Reltions: A Case Study on North Korea

In recent years, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been the subject of active international intervention for the purpose of protecting its people from systematic and grave human rights violations which are amount to the Crimes against Humanity. This paper looks back to a similar situation in the 1990s when the people of North Korea were suffering from a chronic food crisis. The humanitarian actions taken by the international community in that period starkly contrasts with the current movement to promote human rights in the DPRK. By imposing specific security conditions in return for humanitarian aid, it failed to protect hundreds of thousands of victims during the famine that the North Korean government was not able and not willing to help. Overall, this paper maintains that development cannot be enjoyed without security and security cannot be enjoyed without development, but neither can be enjoyed without respect for human rights.