![The Labor Newspaper, an agency of the North Korean Labor Party, illuminated the Chollima District Party Committee, which entered the largest emergency system for a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) on August 3. [노동신문=뉴스1]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202012/25/441d3894-0b4e-48f8-a487-9085c8de9089.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
The Labor Newspaper, an agency of the North Korean Labor Party, illuminated the Chollima District Party Committee, which entered the largest emergency system for a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) on August 3. [노동신문=뉴스1]
No additional filings or approvals for’process simplification’ last month
A total of 25 this year… Only 8 cases in the second half of the corona worsening
“It is difficult to inflow goods even if they are exempted from North Korea’s collapse policy”
The United Nations has simplified the procedure for being exempted from sanctions for humanitarian aid to North Korea last month, but it has been confirmed that no other organizations have applied for additional exemptions and have been approved since. This is the effect that North Korea has also locked in humanitarian aid for fear of spreading the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19).
According to the annual sanctions exemption approval data released by the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on the 24th (local time), the number of humanitarian aid projects that were exempted from sanctions this year was a total of 25, reported by Voice of the United States (VOA). did.
Looking at 25 cases by period, 17 cases were in the first half, but 8 cases in the second half were reduced to almost half. In particular, the VOA said that there was no organization that applied for sanctions waiver from the sanctions committee after the UN sanctions committee simplified the procedure for waiving sanctions against North Korea on the 30th of last month.
It is analyzed that this is because support groups also did not apply for the North Korean border blockade.
Among the projects that were exempted from sanctions, a total of 7 cases were supported to respond to Corona 19. In the first half of the year, there were four sanctions waiver approvals, starting with MSF in February, International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), World Health Organization (WHO), and Switzerland. The remaining three were approved by the Korea Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Research Institute, UNICEF, and MSF in the second half of the year.
![United Nations Security Council meeting. [연합뉴스]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202012/25/5fcf0bef-f167-4b3a-95fc-d1541333169a.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
United Nations Security Council meeting. [연합뉴스]
In addition to the Corona 19 response support project, most of the remaining 18 cases were related to the supply of clean drinking water, food support to relieve malnutrition, and emergency medical support.
Earlier, the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea has partially relaxed the exemption criteria, extending the exemption period from six months to nine months. In the past, only UN agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (IFRC), and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could directly apply for sanction waiver, but other organizations also contact the Secretariat for urgent humanitarian assistance. The process has been simplified, including direct application.
This amendment was at the request of the United States. At the time, aid organizations were expected to more actively support North Korea, but they showed poor performance due to the variable called the Corona 19 pandemic.
Reporter Dayoung Kim [email protected]