The editorial by U.S. Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea Jay Lefkowitz, Freedom for All Koreas, published in Friday’s Wall Street Journal, as Joshua notes below, has drawn fire from the South Korean government:

South Korea has accused the U.S. special envoy for human rights in North Korea of being biased and ill-informed about how Seoul dispenses humanitarian aid in the communist state. The unusually blunt comments about its closest military ally could strain ties with Washington.

What did Lefkowitz say? A couple of key quotes:

One example of well-intentioned, but counterproductive, assistance is in the area of humanitarian aid. . . we properly insist on monitoring that aid to ensure it is not diverted to the military or sold on the black market where the cash can be used for other unintended purposes. By channeling large amounts of unmonitored aid to North Korea, some governments may actually worsen matters and unwittingly help prop up the regime.

[. . .]

So far, the [Kaesong] consortium has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the North with more to come. A South Korean official enthusiastically described it as, “a cooperative project benefiting both the South and the North, and at the same time, a peace project overcoming the wall of the Cold War through economic cooperation.” But the world knows little about what actually goes on at Kaesong, and given North Korea’s track record, there is ample cause for concern about worker exploitation. The South Korean companies apparently pay less than $2 a day per worker, and there is no guarantee that the workers see even this small amount. (emphasis added)

Lefkowitz rightly criticizes to primary South Korean projects – virtually unmonitored aid and near slave labor in Kaesong – as appeasement propping up the DPRK government, with the unintended effect of hurting human right in North Korea.

South Korea’s response? Lefkowitz is “biased,” “narrow-minded,” and “uninformed.” At least they didn’t throw in “racist” as well. Both the Korean government’s response and a Chosun Ilbo editorial, Korea’s War of Words With Washington’s Rights Envoy, fall well short of the logic mark; the ROK is undeniably giving unmonitored food and other aid, and the money the DPRK earns from Kaesong is likely not being spent in ways to help non-elite North Koreans.

The fact remains that anything that prolongs the Kim Jong-il regime also prolongs the humanitarian crisis in North Korea. There is no credible evidence to suggest giving near unconditional aid and pumping funds into North Korea via projects like Kaesong will in any way increase chances for a peaceful reunification – in fact it makes chances for near to mid-term reunification even less; why would a strong(er) North Korea need to give up it’s backward political system then? And South Korea is helping prop up the northern regime.