April 26, 2024
COVID-19

UN will swiftly greenlight aid to North Korea, but NGOs still face big hurdles

North Korea is facing serious economic hardship, and groups claim that South Korean and U.S. rules are the real problem

As North Korea continues to send signals that it’s paranoid about COVID-19 devastating the country, the United Nations has agreed to expedite its approval process for any foreign aid directed towards the country.

On Tuesday, Kelly Craft — an American ambassador to the United Nations — announced that the U.N. adopted a U.S. proposal to make sanctions exemptions “easier and faster” so that aid groups can help North Korea in a more timely manner. Normally, groups must apply for an exemption to send goods to the DPRK on humanitarian grounds, and the U.N. Security Council then reviews those applications.

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