One of the primary international organizations working to treat tuberculosis (TB) in North Korea says it is ready to resume medical aid projects regardless of the state of U.S.-DPRK or inter-Korean relations, years after it was forced to suspend its work due to pandemic restrictions.

But Stephen Linton, chairman of the Eugene Bell Foundation, stressed that private funding is essential to ensure that TB support is free from political entanglement.

“I don’t think U.S.-North Korea relations will improve quickly anytime soon. But that doesn’t have to be an obstacle to fighting tuberculosis,” he told reporters at a press briefing on