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Unification Minister
Sharing when it’s not enough is really sharing “
North Korea reconfirms rejection of crown-related external support
Unification Minister Lee In-young attended the general meeting of the Foreign Communications Commission held at the National Assembly on September 25, and is receiving briefings from Unification Ministry officials before the start of the meeting. At the meeting that day, Minister Lee reported on current problems related to the incident of being attacked by a public official near Soyeonpyeong Island in North Korea. / Reporter Yoon Dong-ju doso7 @
While Unification Minister Lee In-young announced that the new vaccine against the infectious disease coronavirus (Corona 19) should be shared with North Korea, North Korea reaffirmed its intention not to receive any external aid related to the quarantine. .
On the 19th, the labor newspaper of the North Korean Labor Party reported in an editorial titled ‘Emergency quarantine projects are the most important ambassadors of the party and the state’. I am facing an ideal choice. ”
He said: “In many countries, the quarantine situation is getting worse due to the secondary wave of malicious infectious diseases,” he said. “If you cannot fight while living with the spirit of defending the homeland, the destiny of the homeland and the people will be mistreated by a terrible disease.”
The newspaper said: “If the quarantine front is shaken, all fronts of socialist construction are in danger. In other projects, there may be errors and corrections, but in today’s emergency quarantine war, even minor errors and errors (errors) are absolutely tolerated. I cannot “, he also stressed.
When the coronavirus spread in Wuhan, China, in January this year, North Korea was the first in the world to close its borders. At the same time, it has always expressed its intention to reject the support of the South Korean government or international organizations.
North Korea has stated that it will receive no foreign aid due to the 19 crown quarantine even after suffering flood damage in August. At the time, the Chairman of the State Council, Kim Jong-un, publicly instructed “Do not allow any external support in relation to flood damage.”
Unification Minister Lee In-young, who visited Panmunjeom in Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do on September 16, salutes from the southern side of the Military Demarcation Line towards Panmungak, North Korea.
On the other hand, the government sees the medical and health cooperation between the two Koreas as a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations and continues to send signals.
Unification Minister Lee In-young appeared on KBS News 9 on the 18th and said that if the Corona 19 situation calms down, he plans to formally propose a dialogue to North Korea. He stressed the cooperation and solidarity between the two Koreas regarding corona treatment and vaccines, especially since North Korea is in dire straits with the economic impact caused by Corona 19.
Minister Lee said: “If the two Koreas can cooperate with each other on treatments and vaccines, it will be possible for North Korea to create such an opportunity to escape the economic sacrifices caused by the crown quarantine system.”
At the same time, Minister Lee suggested sharing the corona vaccine between the two Koreas, saying, “I think sharing (the corona vaccine) is more real than sharing (the corona vaccine) because there are so many, but when (we) lack , even if it is a little scarce. “
Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in emphasizes the right to equitable access to the Corona 19 vaccine and treatment.
President Moon said in a video speech at the UN headquarters in New York last September at a high-level conference on the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, saying: “ Through international fundraising, organizations International must pre-purchase sufficient quantities of vaccines so that developing countries can benefit. ” “Korea will actively support low-cost vaccine development and dissemination activities for developing countries,” he said.
The government has decided to contribute $ 10 million to the ‘pre-purchase commitment mechanism’ (COVAX AMC) launched to support the Corona 19 vaccine in developing countries.
COVAX is a joint vaccine procurement and distribution organization promoted by the World Vaccine Immunity Association (Gavi), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Infectious Diseases Innovation Association (CEPI) with the aim of accessing equitable to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Countries with sufficient economic capacity are classified into the “ Global Vaccine Supply Mechanism ” (COVAX Center), which pays up-front payments to secure vaccines to be developed in the future, and COVAX AMC, which provides vaccines to countries low-cost developing with money from high-income countries.
Currently, a total of 92 countries, including South Korea, plan to pre-purchase the vaccine, and 92 developing countries, including North Korea, are participating for support.
The government has reviewed how to use the contributions to support North Korea, but it has been known to fail. This is known to be because, per COVAX AMC policy, a donor country cannot designate a recipient country.
The government also uses the official development assistance (ODA) budget for this contribution, which is legally only available to support other countries. By constitution, North Korea belongs to South Korea.
Reporter Kim Dong-pyo [email protected]
