The State Department web site below is a permanent electronic archive of information released prior to January 20, 2001.  Please see www.state.gov for material released since President George W. Bush took office on that date.  This site is not updated so external links may no longer function.  Contact us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein.

James P. Rubin, Department Spokesman Excerpt from daily press briefing Washington, DC, October 14, 1997 U.S. Department of State

MR. RUBIN: ... We are also announcing today a $5 million grant to UNICEF for use in North Korea. This is designed to respond to humanitarian needs in North Korea. Despite the current, temporary improvement in the food situation, we expect the food crisis to deepen. And we are concerned about the vulnerability, in terms of nutrition, of children. So this grant to UNICEF is designed to make it possible for hospitals and clinics not stocked with adequate medicines and other supplies to deal with health needs of vulnerable groups. This grant to UNICEF will provide critical medical supplies to clinics and hospitals as they deal with the health problems of mothers and children, brought on by malnutrition.

So we are continuing to do what we as the United States feel we ought to do to deal with a humanitarian crisis of this kind. We also, at the same time, work closely with the private voluntary organizations and the international community to try to maximize the extent to which any assistance we do provide is monitored.

Link to rest of day's briefing . . .

[end of document]

Return to the DOSFAN Home Page. Return to the Secretary's Home Page.
This is an official U.S. Government source for information on the WWW. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links does not imply endorsement of contents.