World Food Program Chief David Beasley Discusses Food Crises in the Sahel and North Korea

My guest today, David Beasley is the executive director of the World Food Program. We caught up not long after he visited both the Sahel region of western Africa and from North Korea, where the World Food Program is actively engaged.

We kick off discussing the situation in the Sahel, where food security conditions are rapidly deteriorating because of a combination of lower than normal rainfall and insurgent activities. Beasley describes the situation there, and also the link between food security and extremism.  We then discuss a trip he took to North Korea a few weeks ago, including his overall impressions of food availability in North Korea and how nuclear diplomacy with North Korea may impact the humanitarian situation there.

David Beasley took over as executive director of the WFP one year ago. He’s a former politician who previously served as Governor of the state of South Carolina.