_WORLD WATCH______________________________
__________________North Korea______________

Plea for mad cows
Desperate regime seeks condemned meat

The government of North Korea has asked German farmers to send them 400,000 cows destined to be incinerated because of the mad cow disease, so they can be used to feed the millions of Koreans who now face starvation.

The North Korean government said it is ready to risk the chance of its people contracting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), rather than see them continue to suffer starvation in a deadly famine which began in 1994. According to Kathie Zellweger, director of Caritas Hong Kong aid distribution, which has worked to help North Koreans since 1994, “This is not advertising. This is a proof of the gravity of the situation in North Korea. . . . This request is a signal that North Korea is desperate.”

Duncan MacLaren, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis in Rome, made a humanitarian mission to North Korea in 2000. He recalls that “there was a suggestion to send some of the meat, after testing for security, to the poorer peoples of Europe.” But he added, “I am doubtful whether it would be lawful. We certainly do not want to poison the people of North Korea or those of the southern hemisphere. I think there are better and safer ways to help them.”

North Korea has also signaled that it is willing to store toxic waste in the country in exchange for cash to pay for food for its people.