The nonprofit Eugene Bell Foundation on Thursday called for the South Korean government to open inter-Korean overland routes for medical shipments to mitigate supply difficulties caused by international sanctions.

It has become “very hard” to send multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) medication and equipment from third countries to North Korea due to UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, program director Jinnie Hong told assembled media at a news conference in Seoul.

“It’s the most difficult to ship the medicines in South Korea in the past… But transport companies and enterprises who sell medicines and medical diagnostic equipment are being cautious,” she said. “We are facing