In a major relief to North Korea, the UN Security Council has allowed humanitarian agencies to work in the country, media reports said Wednesday.
The Security Council has granted exemptions from sanctions to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Eugene Bell Foundation, Christian Friends of Korea, and the Canadian NGO First Steps Health Society to work in the country facing sanctions for its nuclear program since 2006.
According to the Korean news agency, “The exemptions allow shipments of items to North Korea for the groups’ humanitarian programs, including those to combat tuberculosis and malaria in the impoverished country,”
The partial lifting of sanctions comes after a historic 2018 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during which Kim promised denuclearization. A similar second meeting is in the offing.
A UN committee mandated to look after such issues has granted permission to a list of items for UNICEF’s shipment to North Korea that include computers and televisions for hospital use, as well as nine ambulances worth $205,740.
The exemptions are valid for six months.