North Korea denies it diverted food aid to its military

(AP) North Korea on Thursday denied suggestions it diverted food aid intended for its hungry citizens to its military, calling the charges a plot by South Koreans opposed to its communist government.
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Last week, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said border guards had observed front-line North Korean soldiers unloading hundreds of sacks bearing the logo of the South Korean Red Cross, which is responsible for rice aid shipments to the North.

North Korean soldiers walk on the north part of the Joint Security Area at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone in Paju, 42 km (26 miles) northwest of Seoul, that separates North Korea from the South as a group of journalists attend a media tour organised by the United Nations Command February 20, 2008.
REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won (SOUTH KOREA) 

Ministry officials said they presumed the sacks contained rice aid, but were unable to confirm it. Rice aid is normally delivered by sea, not along the land border.

The alleged rice aid diversion “is something that never actually occurred and should….

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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/21/asia/AS-GEN-Koreas-Diverted-Aid.php

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