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Wednesday, August 16, 2006

How Much More Can They Endure?

More death for North Koreans:

A South Korean aid group claimed Wednesday that massive floods in North Korea last month left about 54,700 people dead or missing and some 2.5 million homeless. The figure is by far the highest toll reported from floods that hit the impoverished communist country in mid-July.

Good God, can this possibly be accurate? And the loss of food could prove even more catastrophic in the months ahead.

How much more can the people of North Korea stand? And will the army remain loyal to the Pillsbury Nuke Boy as the people suffer?

UPDATE: Strategypage says they seem to be in for a world of hurt:

Unless someone has the math all wrong, North Korea is facing a resumption of wide scale famine deaths later this year. That's because food aid has declined because of recent North Korean missile firings, and North Korean insistence that it does not need as much food aid as in the past. The shortfall could be as high as 1.5 million tons. One ton will keep four people alive for a year.

Yet this government has more legitimacy in the eyes of the international community than, oh for example, Taiwan?