In March 2019, the UN Panel of Experts (POE) published a report plainly illustrating some of the “unintended consequences” of sanctions on the citizens of North Korea. The results were itemized in a list of 22 specific aid programs—implemented by both NGOs and UN agencies—that were delayed by the aid exemption process. This essay analyzes the repercussions of both delays and funding shortfalls on humanitarian aid programming for 2018. We focus on a single question: How many people in North Korea could have died as a result of sanctions and funding shortfalls? We estimate that at least 4,000 North Korean lives could have been saved.