Seattle Times: Turning Disaster Into Diplomacy

The Seattle Times, August 22, 2007

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North Korea has been laid low by another natural disaster, and once again the Pacific Northwest's Mercy Corps is leading efforts to get the recumbent nation back on its feet.

Devastating rains produced flooding that has claimed dozens of lives and displaced more than 300,000 people. The relief agency estimates that 11 percent of North Korea's farmland has been washed away, and up to 25 percent of its rice and corn crops destroyed. This in a country always on the cusp of gnawing hunger and famine. North Korea and its erratic, paranoid government in Pyong-yang is slowly being brought into the daylight. The country recently agreed to shut down its sole nuclear reactor in exchange for promised supplies of heating oil. International inspectors have confirmed the plant closure is proceeding.

This same dirt-poor country recently exploded a nuclear device, and its poverty, political insecurity and bursts of bellicose behavior toward South Korea mean it cannot be ignored.

During long periods when most of the world gave up on diplomacy, Mercy Corps was quietly helping the North Korean people through recurrent bouts of suffering and turmoil. Humanitarian assistance opened doors, established connections and maintained contacts.

That credibility and effectiveness was quietly affirmed as Mercy Corps geared up to provide relief for the August floods. The United States Agency for International Development asked Mercy Corps to deliver blankets, shelter materials, water containers and other supplies, confident the agency would get the aid to affected people.

Building trust between old enemies requires a trustworthy intermediary. Mercy Corps is providing emergency care and nurturing diplomatic ties.