US evangelical preacher visits N. Korea

(AFP) – 1 day ago

SEOUL — A US non-governmental group led by evangelical preacher Franklin Graham flew into North Korea on Tuesday and met with its foreign minister, state media said.

Graham, son of famed pastor Billy Graham, held talks with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun, the country's official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief report.

The preacher heads Samaritan's Purse, an evangelical Christian aid organisation that was one of five US groups to send representatives on a visit to the isolated communist state in February.

Samaritan's Purse said in April that parts of North Korea were expected to run out of food in less than two months due to a poor harvest even if foreign donors agreed to provide assistance.

It said that a harsh winter had reduced crop yield by up to half and that some people were already eating grass, leaves and tree bark.

The United States and South Korea have been cautious over reports of dire food shortages in the North, with some officials suspecting that the communist state is exaggerating the problem to win assistance.

But former US President Jimmy Carter said after visiting Pyongyang two weeks ago that the United States and South Korea were guilty of a "human rights violation" for withholding food aid from the North for what he called political reasons.

He travelled with other former world leaders belonging to a group called the Elders, which jointly described the food situation in the North as a crisis.

The group also aimed to to help ease tensions between the two Koreas, assess food shortages and encourage nuclear disarmament, but failed to secure a meeting with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

Carter was criticised by South Korean media for a perceived pro-Pyongyang bias.

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