Like many policy issues regarding North Korea, the U.S. has no good options regarding the question of whether or not to resume deliveries of food aid to the isolated country.
Last year's flooding and severe weather have combined with Pyongyang's perverse policies and rising world food prices to produce major shortfalls in food supplies in many parts of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The United States used to be one of North Korea's major food donors until the deterioration in bilateral relations in 2008-2009 and the refusal by DPRK authorities to allow extensive monitoring of the aid flows as per an earlier agreement led to a suspension of U.S. food deliveries.
Experts and moralists may debate the relative merits of North Korea's request for the food assistance. But on balance, resuming U.S. food aid to North Korea may be warranted for political reasons in addition to the humanitarian arguments in its favor, as it could help establish the conditions needed to resume a painful but necessary dialogue with the North Korean government on a range of pressing subjects.