This paper studies the case of the North Korean famine in the 1990s through the perspective of aid politicization. The key factor of its analysis regarding the consequences of aid politicization comes from the question on how international aid community responds to a humanitarian crisis in a recalcitrant nation. Observations on prominent frameworks on famine, the process of aid politicization in the second half of the 20th century and the 'moral dilemma' debate allow for better examination on what failed in the international humanitarian response to the North Korean famine.