By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
South Korea plans to deliver 1 billion won worth of hand sanitizers to help North Koreans fight the H1N1 flu virus, the Ministry of Unification said Tuesday.
The plan to assist the North by sending the sanitizers on Feb. 22 was announced after Seoul sent anti-flu vaccines to the North last December.
Seoul delivered 500,000 does of the vaccines to the North with a promise to send hand sanitizers as soon as it procured the amount promised.
The Ministry of Unification said Tuesday that 25 trucks will cross the Military Demarcation Line next week for the mission.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that a total of 24 North Koreans have been infected with the H1N1 virus so far, according to Yonhap News.
Four residents in Nampo and Sinuiju in the North were confirmed to be infected with the flu virus recently, Yonhap said.
The flu virus has not taken any North Korean lives so far, according to the WHO.