The "Do No Harm" principle and its application in North Korea | NK News
NK News Logo
September 20, 2026Sep 20, 2026

Weapon Directory

Analysis

The “Do No Harm” principle and its application in North Korea

The concept is central to humanitarianism, but is it applicable to the DPRK?

Do No Harm is a concept in humanitarian action that encourages aid deliverers to examine how their aid might reinforce and support conflict. 

The idea is encapsulated in Mary B. Anderson’s 1999 book of the same name where the author cites an example of a situation where aid may have caused harm taking place in Sudan.

In the example, an aid agency responds to a factional split by building two health facilities, rather than continuing with their original plan for one. An aid worker later realizes that this decision reinforced the conflict, brought twice as many resources into the area,