Ministry of Unification: "Supplies Delivered to North Korea Through Nutrition and Health Cooperation Project"

This Year, 11 Approvals for Exporting Goods to North Korea... Worth Approximately 5.2 Billion Won

Ministry of Unification [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] The government announced that some supplies have been delivered to North Korea through the "Inter-Korean Nutrition and Health Cooperation Project," which has been in effect since September last year and will continue until the 10th of this month.

An official from the Ministry of Unification told reporters on the 1st that "there were projects approved for export through this project, and some of them have been delivered to North Korea."

When asked whether supplies had been delivered to North Korea since the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the official refrained from providing specific details, saying, "It is difficult to disclose concrete information at this time."

The Inter-Korean Nutrition and Health Cooperation Project supports domestic civil organizations working to improve the humanitarian situation of vulnerable groups in North Korea, providing up to 5 billion KRW per project, with a total budget of 10 billion KRW. Although applications have been accepted since September last year, the number of organizations meeting the project requirements has been limited due to strained inter-Korean relations and North Korea's border closures amid the spread of COVID-19.

Accordingly, the project deadline, initially set to end in June this year, was extended to December 10. However, the Ministry of Unification explained that there are no plans to extend the project period further.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Unification, a total of 11 cases of private organizations' export of supplies to North Korea have been approved this year, amounting to approximately 5.22 billion KRW. It is known that some of these cases received support from the Inter-Korean Nutrition and Health Cooperation Project.

Looking at the monthly breakdown, three cases worth 2 billion KRW were approved in February, one case worth 500 million KRW in March, and three cases worth 1.08 billion KRW in April. Since the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, approvals include one case worth 440 million KRW in August, one case worth 500 million KRW in September, and two cases worth 700 million KRW in October. Of the total 5.22 billion KRW, approximately 1.64 billion KRW worth of approvals were made under the current administration.

An official from the Ministry of Unification stated, "Exports of support supplies to North Korea at the private level will continue to be approved if private organizations apply and meet the requirements."