South Korea to resume medical aid to the North

South Korea to resume medical aid to the North

2011-11-09 08:56:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

SEOUL (BNO NEWS) -- The South Korean government will resume its delivery of medical aid to North Korea through the World Health Organization (WHO), an official confirmed on Tuesday.

South Korea sent a letter to the United Nations (UN) body to authorize the use of the remaining $6.94 million for aid to the North. The announcement comes days after South Korea's Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss how to help North Korea.

South Korea made the decision by "taking into account its stance of maintaining its humanitarian aid for infants, children and other vulnerable people in the North, and the WHO's request," an official told the Yonhap news agency. He said the aid will be used to give basic medical supplies and medical facilities to North Korean hospitals, which are often ill-equipped.

In 2009, South Korea donated $13.12 million to the World Health Organization for humanitarian aid to the North. It later withheld the additional donation of $6.94 million following the sinking of its warship in March 2010 which was blamed on the North.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which is officially still at war, have been at critical since the North Korean torpedo fired from a midget submarine sank the ROKS Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship carrying 104 people. The attack left 46 people dead.

And months later, North Korean forces bombarded the disputed Yeonpyeong Island, prompting South Korea to return fire at North Korea. The artillery engagement from the North left two South Korean civilians killed while the South's return fire killed at least five people in North Korea.

The 1950-1953 Korean War, which left millions of people killed, ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

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