Yoon offers unlimited COVID-19 aid to North Korea

President Yoon Suk-yeol / Yonhap

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday he will spare no effort to help North Korea cope with a massive outbreak of COVID-19, offering to send vaccines and other necessary supplies if Pyongyang agrees to accept them.

"We must not hold back on providing necessary assistance to the North Korean people, who are exposed to the threat of the coronavirus," Yoon said during his first budget speech at the National Assembly.

"If the North Korean authorities accept, we will not spare any necessary support, such as medicine, including COVID-19 vaccines, medical equipment and healthcare personnel," he said.

Yoon also said he will discuss economic security issues with U.S. President Joe Biden during their summit in Seoul this week, including strengthening cooperation on global supply chains through the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. (Yonhap)