Following the official restarting of aid to North Korea by the South Korean government on the 8th, Seoul has agreed to offer Hepatitis B vaccines to more than a million North Korean children through the international organization World Health Organization (WHO).
The Ministry of Unification revealed the news on the 15th, saying that the vaccines were delivered through Caritas Germany and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare in two loads, one on the 7th and the second on the 14th, via Dandong, China.
An official with the Ministry of Unification revealed, “The Ministry of Health and Welfare budget was used to provide the vaccinations both last year and the previous year, and the same is true this time. Aid for North Korea’s vulnerable class lies within the framework of the May 24th Measures, and this time the aid came within that purpose, too.”
The official added, “This vaccination support is the first aid given to North Korea since the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island; in the mean time, aid for malaria, hygiene, child care and the disabled was given by private organizations, and therefore further applications for the release of humanitarian assistance in the future will be positively reviewed.”
Caritas Germany and other international aid organizations have been working for some time to develop a hepatitis vaccination projects with the North Korea Ministry of Health for children in North Korea.
On the 8th, in its first move after officially agreeing to restart aid, the Ministry of Unification approved the release of $6.9 million in stalled funding provided to the WHO.
