Pyongyang bought $65 million in weapons under Seoul`s previous gov`t: report

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has purchased US$65 million worth of
weapons from overseas suppliers over the past five years, a report showed Monday,
implying the generous aid provided by Seoul's previous administration may have
ended up strengthening Pyongyang's military.
Between 2003 and early-2008, Pyongyang spent an average of $13 million each year
in buying the latest arms from countries including China, Russia, Germany and the
Slovak Republic, according to a government report to a ruling party lawmaker.
China has been providing North Korea with such items as used armored vehicles and
military uniforms, the report showed.
"The government believes North Korea has reinforced its armed forces by a notable
extent during this period," said Rep. Kwon Young-se of the ruling Grand National
Party.
Kwon called for more caution in providing aid to North Korea and enhanced
monitoring of aid distribution, saying, "The report shows North Korea focused on
developing its military capacity despite the shortage of food."
Transparency in the distribution of aid in the North has been a persistent
question for many here over the past decade, with critics claiming most of the
food is being used to feed the North's military and the country's elite instead
of starving civilians, who are its intended recipients.
Previous South Korean administrations led by liberal leaders Kim Dae-jung and Roh
Moo-hyun sent approximately 400,000 tons of food to the North every year, but
were blamed for not demanding proper monitoring of the distribution. Direct food
relief shipments have been suspended this year after the launch of the
conservative Lee Myung-bak government in February.
Last month, the U.N. World Food Program asked Seoul, as well as other countries,
to contribute up to $60 million in food aid, citing the fact that the North is
currently experiencing its worst food shortage in nearly a decade.
Seoul's incumbent government remains undecided on whether to provide the food aid
amid chilling inter-Korean ties and Pyongyang's recent retreat from a 2007
aid-for-denuclearization deal with South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the
United States. The conservative Lee government is against what it calls an
"unconditional flow of aid" to the North, firmly linking the handouts with
Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament.