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    <title>Mercy Corps North Korea Features</title>
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    <description>The Latest Mercy Corps North Korea Content</description>
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    <copyright>(c) 2007 Mercy Corps</copyright>
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<item>
	<title>Food for North Korea's Families</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/hungernutrition/2277/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[Mercy Corps is taking the lead in a yearlong distribution of 100,000 metric tons of food to quell rampant hunger in North Korea.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:31:45 -0700</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
	<title>Mercy Corps and DHL Deliver Medicine to Flood-Affected North Korean Families</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/emergencies/1812/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[Mercy Corps and DHL are collaborating to send critical medicines to flood-affected families in North Korea.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:14:42 -0700</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
	<title>Seattle Times: Turning Disaster Into Diplomacy</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/northkorea/1803/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[North Korea has been laid low by another natural disaster, and once again the Pacific Northwest's Mercy Corps is leading efforts to get the recumbent nation back on its feet.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:15:56 -0700</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>Floods Ravage North Korea</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/emergencies/1792/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[Unyielding rain that began in early August has buried large areas of North Korea, destroying more than 30,000 houses and affecting nearly one million people.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:50:51 -0700</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>Seeing for the First Time</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/northkorea/1773/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[In May 2007 Esme Culver visited North Korea at the request of that country's officials.  While there, she gained rare and thoughtful insight.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:19:48 -0700</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
	<title>Ellsworth Culver Honored by North Korea for Life's Work</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/northkorea/1061/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[A representative of the North Korean government honored the late Ellsworth Culver, Mercy Corps' Co-Founder, for his committed, innovative humanitarian work in that country.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2006 06:06:10 -0800</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
	<title>Our Man in Pyongyang</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/northkorea/800/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[Recent headlines out of North Korea haven't been as exciting as news from its supposed cohorts in the &quot;Axis of Evil.&quot; Next to Saddam's trial and Iran's capture of British sailors, glacial nuclear negotiations and opening of a new industrial park--a joint venture where South Korean companies can reap low North Korean wages--don't really get the blood boiling.

But hints of economic openness suggest North Korea might harbor secret hopes of becoming the next China or India, instead of a Stalinist Shangri-La. If a North Korean thaw ever comes to pass, a locally based international relief agency will be partly to thank.

Mercy Corps has long funneled food and medical assistance into the Communist nation's devastated economy. But the organization's just as proud of the extraordinary rapport with North Korean officialdom fostered by Ells Culver, the charity's co-founder. In more than 20 trips to North Korea, Culver has waged a low-key but relentless campaign of unofficial diplomacy, establishing a link between Oregon and &quot;Dear Leader&quot; Kim Il Sung's domain. Some hope the connection will pay off in future economic and cultural ties.

&quot;I think the North Koreans now see Oregon as a special enclave where things might be possible,&quot; says Dave Humphrey, a Lake Oswego businessman who accompanied Culver and about a dozen other Portlanders to North Korea last month. &quot;That's entirely because of Ells.&quot;

Culver, a mild 78-year-old Episcopalian who helped start Mercy Corps in 1979, describes his long involvement with North Korea as alternately delicate and bare-knuckled.

&quot;The North Koreans all consider themselves tough negotiators,&quot; Culver says. &quot;And it's important to engage them at that level. You find a little civility and sincerity go a long way.&quot;

Mercy Corps is one of few private aid agencies active in North Korea. This year, the organization plans to ship more than $200,000 in medical supplies to the country.

As members of the Portland traveling party--an unusually large delegation for North Korea--discovered, the diplomatic grunt work is up to Culver.

&quot;'Beautifully' doesn't begin to describe the way Ells handles things over there,&quot; says Jim Rue, a PR man for Robert Pamplin's business empire whose wife works for Mercy Corps and who accompanied Culver to Pyongyang. &quot;They grant him things they wouldn't grant most people.&quot;

Culver sees possibilities for Oregon, should the feud between Dear Leader and Uncle Sam ever cool off. The country remains a surreal economic dead zone, with pristine six-lane expressways into Pyongyang nearly deserted. But Culver says a looser future for the nation of 22.6 million is possible.

&quot;What we saw on this trip is that commerce is alive in North Korea,&quot; Culver says. &quot;If the country does embrace opportunities to rebuild its infrastructure, the costs will be enormous. But the opportunities for joint ventures--the kind of enterprise we've seen in China and elsewhere--could be there.&quot;

In which case, Mercy Corps' home state is in a unique position. &quot;We've gotten acquainted,&quot; Culver says. &quot;We've gone there, and we've hosted groups here. You could see, down the line, something significant between North Korea and Oregon.&quot;

[Editor's note: This article was written by Zach Dundas and originally appeared in the July 7, 2004 edition of Willamette Week]]]></description>
	<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jul 2004 06:40:25 -0700</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>Mercy Corps Responds to North Korea Tragedy</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/northkorea/347/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[Mercy Corps mounted a quick response to the devastating train explosion in North Korea.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jun 2004 06:22:05 -0700</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
	<title>Mercy Corps Sends 100,000 Apple Tree Rootstocks To North Korea</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/hungernutrition/338/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[Humanitarian flight loaded with 100,000 apple tree rootstocks hopes to aid food shortages with a long-term solution in North Korea.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2004 09:08:34 -0700</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
	<title>Mercy Corps Plays Role in Helping Improve US - North Korea Relations</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/northkorea/365/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[Mercy Corps' Co-Founder and Senior Vice President Ells Culver departs for North Korea and China on a peace-building mission.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2004 07:46:58 -0700</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
	<title>Keeping an Open Mind in Dealing with North Korea</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/aboutus/commentary/177/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[NGO assistance to North Korea can play a critical role in bringing about peace and change.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Mon, 18 Nov 2002 10:47:28 -0800</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
	<title>US/Canadian Aid to North Korea</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/northkorea/46/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[$3.9 million aid shipment, coordinated by Mercy Corps, received contributions from numerous U.S. and Canadian businesses, Universities, and NGOs. ]]></description>
	<pubDate>Mon, 26 Mar 2001 07:35:17 -0800</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
	<title>Aid Builds Bridges, Saves Lives in North Korea</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/northkorea/51/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[In an effort to address underlying causes of North Korean food shortages, Mercy Corps plans a humanitarian flight stocked with medicine, medical supplies, fertilizer, and more.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Wed, 23 Aug 2000 09:13:40 -0700</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>10,000 Trees in Flight to North Korea</title>
	<link>http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/northkorea/53/</link>
	<description><![CDATA[In an effort to address food shortages and provide long-term solutions to hunger in North Korea, &quot;Operation Appleseed&quot; is sending apple seeds to establish a 10,000-apple tree orchard.]]></description>
	<pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2000 06:50:23 -0800</pubDate>
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