UNICEF shipped 25 containers of medical supplies and nutritional assistance to North Korea through the port city of Nampho this month, the international organization told NK News on Thursday.

Sixteen containers carrying “medical supplies, therapeutic milk and other nutritional products” arrived in early January, a UNICEF spokesperson confirmed via email. An additional nine containers with tuberculosis-related supplies and syringes for health facilities arrived last week. 

The rare delivery of assistance during the pandemic comes as the DPRK appears to be in dire need of medical and nutritional aid. Both the U.N. and South Korean government researchershave raised alarm over