Approved for exemption from sanctions last May... The support goal within 6 months is “Transportation to Nampo Port by next month”
Ministry of Unification "Humanitarian aid has nothing to do with the political or military situation, but we carefully review the timing and method."
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Park Soo-yoon and Chae Yun-hwan = It was confirmed that the government reported to the UN Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee (1718 Committee) that it would send medical equipment to North Korea by November.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Unification to People Power Party lawmaker Kim Dae-sik, a member of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, on the 7th, the government sent a request for exemption from sanctions against North Korea to the 1718 Committee, saying it would send medical equipment to Kangdong County Hospital in Pyongyang, North Korea, through the Korea Foundation for International Health (KOFIH).
The Korea International Healthcare Foundation is a public institution under the Ministry of Health and Welfare that carries out healthcare support projects for developing countries, overseas countries, North Korea, overseas Koreans, foreign workers, etc.
The time of sending was specified as ‘within 6 months from the date of obtaining approval from the 1718 Committee.’
Since the Ministry of Unification was notified by the UN Security Council of approval for sanctions exemption for the project on May 22, the 22nd of next month is the government's tentative delivery deadline.
Additionally, in the request for exemption from sanctions, the government stated that it would transport medical equipment by ship.
Hyundai Asan was tentatively selected as the shipping company, and a plan was written to ship it from Incheon Port, via Dandong, China, to Nampo Port, North Korea. The total shipping cost was $3,500, including domestic shipping costs in Korea.
The medical equipment to be shipped is 1,431 pieces of 166 types, and is estimated to be worth a total of $6.75 million (about 9.3 billion won).
Among these, 41 items, including high-pressure sterilizers, ambulances, ultra-low temperature freezers, urine analyzers, and computed tomography (CT) machines, are subject to UN sanctions that cannot be transferred to North Korea, so it was stated that permission would be sought in advance.
The government also reported plans to dispatch a joint monitoring team consisting of three employees of the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare and three external experts to check whether the goods are diverted from their original purpose of providing medical services.
It was also added that if the North Korean authorities do not allow Korean inspectors, non-face-to-face monitoring such as on-site inspection or video inspection can be conducted through agents from third countries such as China or Mongolia.
In the request, the government referred to North Korea by its official English name, DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), and explained, "The number of medical facilities in DPRK is not small in absolute terms, but medical equipment and medicines necessary for normal operation are severely lacking and are in a state of serious damage."
In addition, the reason for selecting Kangdong Military Hospital as a support target was, "Kangdong County, located on the outskirts of Pyongyang, has relatively limited access to medical services compared to urban areas where medical resources are concentrated. By providing medical equipment to Kangdong Military Hospital, it is expected to strengthen diagnostic and treatment capabilities and contribute to improving access to essential medical services for residents in the outskirts of Pyongyang, especially the vulnerable groups."
“The requested items will be used for humanitarian medical purposes only and will be used to support essential medical services to vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and patients with serious or chronic illnesses,” he added.
In a written response submitted to Representative Kim, the Ministry of Unification said that the validity period of the sanctions exemption received from the 1718 Committee is 9 months from the date of notification of approval (May 22), and that if the project is not executed by then, "We will review the application for extension of sanctions exemption while reexamining the business plan before the expiration of the sanctions exemption approval validity period."
Rep. Kim said, “In a situation where our soldier was seriously injured by a land mine believed to have been planted by North Korea, we cannot help but ask whether the government’s detailed planning of equipment and ships to be given to North Korea is in line with the public’s expectations,” and pointed out, “When it comes to aid to North Korea, principles and verification come first, not speed.”
In response to this, the Ministry of Unification issued a statement to the media and said, "The consistent position of successive governments is that cooperation on a purely humanitarian level will continue to be promoted regardless of the political or military situation. However, taking into account the serious situation of inter-Korean relations, we will carefully review the timing and method of promoting individual projects."
He said, “This project is at a stage prior to consultations with North Korea, and sanctions exemption approval was preemptively obtained as a preparatory measure,” adding, “Detailed plans such as delivery time and method, monitoring method, and list of goods are subject to change during the actual consultation process with North Korea.”
Next, in relation to the opposition party's point that medical equipment could be diverted into weapons as Pyongyang's Kangdong-gun, where Kangdong-gun Hospital is located, is the center of North Korea's military industry, he said, "We will also consider changing the hospital subject to cooperation when applying for an extension of sanctions exemption in February next year."
