Making ensuring that no more US foreign aid “be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States” was one of President Donald Trump‘s top concerns when he took office. As a result, several NGOs and other humanitarian organizations are now in limbo, and over 90% of USAID’s contracts have been canceled.
Organizations that support the advancement of human rights in North Korea have been among the most severely affected. The US Treasury Department froze all of the National Endowment for Democracy’s (NED) funds as part of the Trump administration’s attempt to drastically reduce foreign aid. The NED is a vital source of funding for numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that focus on North Korean issues and human rights, such as Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, and Daily NK.
NED “has been unable to meet its obligations and has been forced to suspend support for nearly 2,000 partners worldwide,” the organization said in a statement released on February 25. Human rights organizations in North Korea are alarmed by the abrupt reduction in their already meager finances; some have warned that they would have to shut down within months if no other funding source can be found.
The scenario “will have long-term consequences on efforts to improve human rights of people in the DPRK and on ensuring accountability for human rights violations and crimes against humanity,” according to UN special envoy for North Korean human rights Elizabeth Salmon, who underlined those concerns. She emphasized that human rights NGOs in North Korea are “crucial in promoting and protecting the human rights of people in the DPRK in the complete absence of civil society” and called on the public and private sectors to assist these organizations.
Whether Trump will rethink his decision to substantially slash American funding or whether a new, limited budget will be passed for organizations like NED to keep them operating is still up in the air due to legal battles and policy changes. However, it is very doubtful that international aid would return to its pre-Trump levels.
South Korea is the clear alternative to US financing, but political constraints have severely hampered Seoul’s assistance to these organizations. NGOs have had trouble getting enough money to do their work in North Korea, even though the current conservative government has publicly backed efforts to improve human rights there. On the other hand, South Korea’s progressive governments have always prioritized engagement and diplomacy with Pyongyang over resolving human rights concerns.
The ongoing financing issue coincides with widespread human rights violations in North Korea. The fact that North Korean borders are still closed to international humanitarian players makes it much harder to estimate the scope of the issue. Human Rights Watch’s 2024 report on North Korea claims that the regime is still limiting people’s freedom of travel and ruthlessly suppressing the importation and distribution of outside goods. The United Nations reported in July 2024 that “victims are systematically compelled to work under the threat of physical violence and in inhumane conditions,” further highlighting the persistence of forced labor.