Story number 1 for 6 Aug 2001

(North Korea) — North Korea tops our newscast today. As North Korea’s President Kim Jong Il met with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend, many believe scores of North Koreans are going without food. Christian Reformed World Relief Committee’s Andy Ryskamp agrees. “The number of people that have died because of starvation there has been a high number. I don’t think we have an accurate count, but yes it has been a desperate situation over the past three of four years.” Ryskamp says they’ve sent some four-million dollars worth of food aid into North Korea. He says with more funding, this could be an open door for Christian witness. “We’re now looking at ways in which we can build the food security so that trust is built, so that at a later point people can also do a presentation of the Gospel there. (BROOKS :02) The CRWRC is raising money to help with that effort.”