S. Korea plans shipment of medical equipment to NK hospital next month
Summary
The South Korean government plans to ship medical equipment to Kangdong County Hospital in Pyongyang by Nov. 22 under a sanctions exemption approved by the U.N. Security Council’s 1718 Committee. The shipment would include 1,431 items in 166 categories worth around $6.75 million, including diagnostic and surgical equipment. The plan remains tentative because its final scale depends on consultations with North Korea, whose willingness to accept the aid is unclear.
Key Facts
- The 1718 Committee approved the sanctions exemption on May 22, and the exemption remains valid for nine months.
- The Korea Foundation for International Healthcare is expected to facilitate the shipment of X-ray machines, stethoscopes, blood pressure monitors, operating tables and other equipment.
- Under the tentative plan, Hyundai Asan Corp. would transport the equipment from Incheon through Dandong to Nampho.
- Rep. Kim Dae-sik criticized the plan after Seoul concluded that North Korean mines caused a Sept. 21 DMZ explosion that wounded three South Korean soldiers.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the construction site of a hospital in Pyongyang in this image released by Korean Central News Agency, July 20, 2020. Yonhap
The South Korean government plans to send medical equipment to Pyongyang by late November under a sanctions exemption granted by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions committee on North Korea, a government report showed Wednesday.
The government received approval from the UNSC 1718 Committee on May 22 for the plan to ship medical equipment to Kangdong County Hospital in Pyongyang, according to the report submitted by the unification ministry to Rep. Kim Dae-sik of the main opposition People Power Party.
Under the plan, the government seeks to send 1,431 items in 166 categories estimated to be worth around $6.75 million to the hospital through the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare.
The items include diagnostic equipment, such as X-ray machines, stethoscopes and blood pressure monitors, along with operating tables, and other surgical and treatment equipment.
The government plans to ship the equipment by Nov. 22, within six months of the May 22 approval, while the sanctions exemption itself is valid for nine months from the approval date, according to the ministry report.
Under a tentative shipping plan, Hyundai Asan Corp. will ship the equipment from South Korea's port city of Incheon to North Korea's western port of Nampho via the Chinese border city of Dandong.
The unification ministry stressed that the plan is still tentative and that the actual scale of the assistance will be finalized after consultations with North Korea.
It remains unclear, however, whether the North will be willing to accept the aid as inter-Korean exchanges and dialogue channels have remained virtually suspended for years.
Rep. Kim criticized the government's plan, citing the recent explosions of North Korea-planted mines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that injured South Korean soldiers.
"At a time when our soldiers were seriously injured by mines believed to have been planted by North Korea, we cannot help but question whether it is appropriate for the government to come up with detailed plans and shipping arrangements for the equipment to be provided to the North," he said.
Seoul recently concluded that land mines deliberately planted by North Korea on the South's side of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that separates the two Koreas caused the Sept. 21 blast that left three South Korean soldiers wounded. Pyongyang has denied its involvement in the incident.
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