Ed Royce: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much. A couple of quick points here. One, the administration is actively considering…”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much. A couple of quick points here. One, the administration is actively considering resuming food aid to North Korea. And I understand the humanitarian impulse here, but the unusual circumstances of North Korea make this a mistake--and make it a very bad mistake, frankly--which this amendment would correct. I remember the words of one North Korean defector, Kim Duk-hong. I had a chance to talk with him. He said actually in testimony here before the committee, we must not give food aid to North Korea because it is, in his words, the same as providing funding for North Korea's nuclear program. Why is that so? Because what invariably happens is they redirect these resources into support for the regime. This week we had reports that North Korea is making miniaturized versions of its nuclear weapons--ones that could fit atop ICBMs. That makes his statement all that more dire about the redirection of these resources into the regime's hands. The situation in North Korea is heartbreaking. I've been up there. I've seen the depravation. But this is a disaster made by the dictatorship itself. And let me say unequivocally, the food we send does not reach the hungry. So, who benefits from our good will? Well, the inner circle does and their military industrial complex does. We've had hearings in which the French NGO Doctors Without Borders--we're all aware of their good work around the world.…”