Recluse North Korean Peninsula continues to create troubles

North Korea might be a failing economy but definitely not a dormant one. It made headlines, few weeks ago, with the rumors of possible missile attacks towards Hawaii. It is again speculated to be behind the cyber attacks that hit the websites of US and South Korean government agencies, banks and businesses for a couple of days after the American Independence day.

Given North Korea’s record of creating troubles in the past, it is an obvious suspect for the recent attacks. The hermit state measures its success not from feeding its starving population but from messing around in the world, especially more so when it comes to South Korea and the US. On top of that, the deteriorating health of its dear leader and the struggle in finding a suitable successor make North Korea even more desperate.

All being said, the attack was meant to be a symbolic one. The damage done was almost close to nothing. US and South Korean authorities soon took control of the websites and record is that no important information has been leaked. The not-much-effective nature of attacks also makes it typical North-Korean.

However, this might be a harbinger of bigger shocks to come. The world is such positioned that cyber attacks, of any substantial scale, can dismantle its balance. Should stock markets, international trade and outsourcing industry that propel the world economy today come to a halt, the consequences can be far-reaching. In all reality, North Korea’s capacity to at least make an attempt to disrupt the world system should not be undermined. Ironically, the money it gets from selling missiles to Iran, Syria and Pakistan might not be enough to feed its starving population but is more than enough to produce regular nuisances around the world.

This crazy and erratic aggression by North Korea pours water over all hope of its negotiation with the international community. It continues to reluctantly drag itself towards the negotiation table, only to mess up at the end with new surprises. As for now, lets hope that the recluse North Korean peninsula stops playing around and gets back to do what it ought to be doing.

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Food and Water Crisis

This is official. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Robert Zoellick have already sounded the alarm. Delegates in the Davos meeting this year were requested to respond. The food and water crisis is set to hit the world hard and if corrective actions are not taken on time, it can take the form of a catastrophe.

Food prices continue to go up and in a world where 1.02 billion people are hungry (WFP), this is definitely not a good news. At a time when thousands of people are made homeless every day due to conflicts in different parts of the world, this crisis is taking a toll of many lives. Food riots have become common phenomena in Sub Saharan Africa, Haiti, Bangladesh and in many other developing countries. The situation is already so severe that even big organizations like World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and UNHCR are struggling to curb this crisis.

How did we reach this point? The world is running out of water and this has severely impacted food production. The demand for food is ever increasing, particularly from emerging populous economies like India and China. Countries with food surpluses few years ago are now struggling to feed themselves. India, for instance, used to export rice to Bangladesh till few years ago. Owing to decreasing food production and increasing prediction of food shortages, India now imports rice from Australia, triggering rice crisis in Bangladesh. On top of that, increasing food production for bio fuels has further complicated the matter and raises more questions than solutions. It has given rise not just to ethical dilemmas and controversies but also to steep price hikes making food out of reach from the hands of world’s poorest population.

Having realized the gravity of this issue, Asia America Initiative launched several agricultural projects in Mindanao, Philippines. We empower agricultural communities not just to be self-sufficient but also to provide surplus to other communities in desperate need. Join AAI as we create models of communities that can be followed all over the world to best tackle food and water crisis.