US Ships Food to North Korea Following Agreement to Expand UN Role

美援助北韩首批小麦运抵北韩港口

　

Help is starting to reach hungry North Korea. A ship carrying tens of thousands of tons of grain from the United States has arrived at a North Korean port. The shipment follows a North Korean deal with the World Food Program to expand its reach in the country.

　

援助物资开始进入饥饿的北韩。一艘满载数万吨粮食的货船从美国抵达北韩港口。此前的一项协议使世界粮食计划署得以扩大对北韩的援助行动。

The American ship carrying 37,000 tons of wheat arrived Sunday in the North Korean port of Nampo. It is the first installment of half a million tons of food aid promised by the United States to the impoverished North.

　

一艘装载著3万7千吨小麦的美国货轮星期天抵达北韩港口南浦。美国表示要提供给贫困的北韩50万吨粮食援助，这是第一批。

Two days earlier, the United Nations World Food Program signed a new agreement with Pyongyang to bolster its presence in North Korea. Paul Risley, spokesman for the WFP's Asia operations, says the deal is great news for North Korea's malnourished population.

　

两天前，联合国世界粮食计划署与平壤签订了一项新的协议，扩大在北韩的行动。世界粮食计划署亚洲行动发言人里斯利说，这个协议对北韩营养不良的民众来说是一个极好的消息。

"It will allow for increased staff, it will allow for much larger amounts of food, and instead of feeding roughly one million people we feed presently, we will likely be able to feed close to the five million people we estimate are hungry," he said.

　

他说：“根据协议，可以增加工作人员，增加更多的粮食。我们可能能够为我们估计正在挨饿的将近5百万人提供食品，而现在我们大约只能帮助1百万人。”

North Korea has experienced food shortages for decades as the result of self-imposed economic isolation and mismanagement of resources. The problem culminated in the mid-90s, when up to a million North Koreans are believed to have died in a famine. Last year's heavy flooding in the North, made worse by the population's clear-cutting of mountains for food and fuel, has severely impacted this year's harvest.

　

由于在经济上与外界隔绝和对资源的管理不当，北韩几十年来一直粮食短缺。这个问题到1990年代中期恶化到极点，据信那些年有1百万北韩人饿死。去年北韩发生严重水灾，北韩人为种粮食和获取燃料而将山上的树木全部伐光，使灾情进一步恶化，严重影响了今年的收成。

Friday's agreement with the WFP will put 50 WFP workers in North Korea over the next year, up from the current ten people. It also allows the teams to distribute food in areas previously off limits.

　

根据上星期五北韩与世界粮食计划署签署的协议，相对于目前的10名工作人员，该机构今后一年可以派遣50名工作人员进入北韩。协议还允许这些人前往过去不得进入的地区分发食品。

Risley says desperate times may have helped coax North Korea away from its usual reclusiveness.

　

里斯利指出，局势严峻，这可能是迫使北韩脱离通常那种与世隔绝状态的原因。

"There is a growing awareness by the government of DPRK, and a growing openness toward an expanded international presence," he added. "In particular, when it comes to food assistance."

　

他说：“北韩政府越来越认识到这一点，而且越来越接受国际社会进入北韩，特别是在粮食援助问题上。”

Risley adds, the U.S. shipment that arrived Sunday was contingent on the new WFP deal.

　

里斯利补充说，美国星期天运抵北韩的粮食是北韩与世界粮食计划署新协议的一部分。

"The U.S. was reluctant to provide the first installment of its food aid until that agreement was reached by WFP and by the government," he said.

　

他说：“在世界粮食计划署和北韩政府没有达成协议之前，美国不愿意发送第一批粮食。”

The World Food Program has a policy of only distributing food in areas where it can monitor distribution to ensure food reaches the most needy. Washington has expressed concerns in the past that unmonitored aid may be diverted to North Korea's military and political elite.

　

世界粮食计划署的政策是，只在能够实施监督、确保粮食发送最需要的人的地方分配粮食。华盛顿过去担心，如果没有监督，援助物资可能会落到北韩军队和政治特权者手中。

South Korea has not yet sent food aid to the North, but that may change soon as the result of progress in negotiations on nuclear weapons. Even without sending food, Seoul is assisting the North in its crisis: the World Food Program says South Korea puts up most of the funding for the agency's operations in the North.

　

韩国还没有向北韩运送粮食援助，但是在有关核武器的谈判取得进展之后，韩国方面可能会有所改变。尽管没有运送粮食，首尔还是在北韩陷入危机的时刻提供了帮助。世界粮食计划署说，韩国为该机构在北韩的行动提供了大部分资金。