International Community's Aid to North Korea Increases for the First Time Since COVID-19... $2.18 Million

The scale of international aid to North Korea has increased for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data released on the 9th by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Financial Tracking Service (FTS), international aid to North Korea has been scheduled at $2.18 million (approximately 2.9 billion KRW) so far this year.

All of the $2.18 million is expected to be contributed by Switzerland. It will be executed through UNICEF, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA), and is planned to be used for nutrition support in response to COVID-19.

On April 15, 2022, North Korean residents can be seen in Gaepung County, Hwanghaebuk-do, North Korea, as viewed from the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Previously, North Korea completely closed its borders and blocked external movement to prevent the virus from entering during the COVID-19 period. As a result, international aid to North Korea continuously decreased after COVID-19. Last year, it recorded an all-time low of $1.52 million (approximately 2 billion KRW).

North Korea aid amounts were $45.9 million (approximately 61.1 billion KRW) in 2019 and $41.88 million in 2020, but sharply declined to $13.78 million in 2021 and $2.33 million in 2022. Last year, it was $1.52 million.

The UN OCHA excluded North Korea from the list of humanitarian aid recipients starting in 2021 due to the impossibility of on-site verification caused by North Korea’s border closure. However, North Korea began easing border restrictions from mid-last year, and international humanitarian aid to North Korea is expected to increase further.