From Reuters:SEOUL, March 18 (Reuters) - North Korea, which suffers from chronic food shortages and where some people are believed to be on the brink of starvation, has rejected food aid from the United States, the U.S. State Department said.
Following are some questions and answers on why Pyongyang might be doing this.
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My Comment: The key paragraph in the story is the following:
And Pyongyang has so far recoiled from the offer by the South's President Lee Myung-bak to discuss aid if the North makes a formal request. That, say analysts, would be a step too far for a government which paints itself as the legitimate leader of all Korea and could not be seen to beg for help from a government in the South it publicly describes as traitorous.
The North Korean Government has always regarded themselves as the legitimate government for all of Korea. If they are the legitimate government .... how could they then acknowledge the Southern Korean Government by making such a formal request. It would undermine 55 years of Communist propaganda which is at the heart of its legitimacy.
If they had a choice between war or making this request .... the answer would be war.