hankyoreh

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks with reporters in the presidential press pool at his office in Yongsan on May 13. (pool photo)

As early as this week, the South Korean government may officially propose to North Korea that the two countries initiate working-level talks to send Pyongyang medical supplies such as COVID-19 vaccines. It’s also likely that the issue of providing North Korea with medical supplies will be discussed during the first South Korea-US summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden.

A high-ranking South Korean government official told the Hankyoreh on Sunday that Seoul is “considering a proposal to initiate working-level contact with North Korea within the week for the purpose of providing the country with medical supplies such as COVID-19 vaccines.”

The South Korean Ministry of Unification also announced on Sunday that it “plans to make relevant proposals to North Korea as soon as possible so that substantial assistance can be provided to aid North Korea’s disease control efforts, considering the spread of COVID-19 within the country and the need for a prompt response.”

However, on when the proposal would take place, the ministry stated a specific timeline has yet to be decided. Discussions about making contact with Pyongyang are expected to begin in earnest after Unification Minister Kwon Young-se takes office on Monday.

Referencing the COVID-19 outbreak in North Korea, Yoon said on Friday that South Korea will provide medical supplies including COVID-19 vaccines to the North Korean people. North Korea’s party-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on Sunday that from late April to 6 pm on Saturday, the country saw 820,620 people with a fever and 42 total deaths. North Korea effectively locked down the entire country on Thursday in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

The two Koreas are most likely to make contact using the communication line at the inter-Korean liaison office to send telephone notices. The South Korean government is considering assisting North Korea through grants via international agencies, by directly providing the North with items exempted from UN sanctions, and via non-governmental organizations.

The South Korean government is hopeful that providing North Korea with COVID-19 vaccines will create an opportunity for a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations, which have stalled for some time. But as Pyongyang didn’t respond to the Moon Jae-in administration’s proposals for disease control and health cooperation, it’s unclear how it will respond to the new administration’s proposal for initiating working-level contact.

A key official in the Office of the President met with reporters and stated that “how discussions will proceed on the working level will be deliberated step by step.”

“Right now, we are waiting on how North Korea will take [the proposal],” the official said.

The issue of humanitarian aid for North Korea, including providing the country with vaccines, will be discussed as a key agenda during the first South Korea-US summit between Yoon and Biden, scheduled for Saturday.

A high-ranking official within the Office of the President said Sunday, “Discussing North Korea will naturally lead to discussions about humanitarian assistance.”

The official added, “We have to wait and see on what level and with what specificity the discussion will take place. South Korea and the US agree that humanitarian aid will be provided in a situation of denuclearization.”

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter; Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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