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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen hold a joint press conference after their summit at the Hofburg in Vienna on Monday. (Yonhap News)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is currently visiting Austria as a guest of the state, said Monday that he intends to supply COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea if the government there agrees to it.

Many are watching to see how Pyongyang responds to Moon’s messages signaling his commitment to using pandemic control efforts as a means of resuming dialogue. His latest remarks come after he raised the possibility last month that the scale of South Korea’s joint military exercises with the US could be adjusted.

During a joint press conference following his summit with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen at the Hofburg in Vienna that day, Moon was asked whether he had any intention of providing vaccines to North Korea.

“If North Korea agrees to it, we will actively pursue cooperation toward supplying vaccines to North Korea,” he said, adding that North Korea would “obviously become a focus of cooperation if South Korea plays the role of a global vaccine hub.”

He went on to say that the US “also actively supports humanitarian cooperation with North Korea.”

“The only way for the world to be free of COVID-19 is for developing and low-income countries to be vaccinated equitably,” Moon said.

“South Korea aims to become a global vaccine hub through its vaccine global partnership agreement with the US, increasing the availability of vaccines and contributing to the eradication of COVID-19 throughout the world,” he added, stressing the need for vaccine supplies.

This was the first time Moon publicly mentioned the possibility of supplying COVID-19 vaccines directly to the North.

In September 2020, he suggested that Pyongyang participate in a Northeast Asian “cooperative body” for disease prevention and public health. In December, South Korean Minister of Unification Lee In-young announced his intention of supplying COVID-19 treatments and diagnostic kits.

But North Korea showed no response.

The “vaccine support” idea — which Seoul floated while fleshing out its “global hub” vision when South Korean vaccine administration is proceeding smoothly — could be a means of restarting inter-Korean dialogue.

In that context, Moon’s reference Monday to the US “actively support[ing] humanitarian cooperation” is noteworthy. North Korea’s preference for established vaccines that have already undergone safety testing means that US and European cooperation is essential if they are to be introduced.

Van der Bellen also commented on the matter of vaccine assistance to North Korea during the press conference that day, stressing that the pandemic can only be overcome when all countries work together.

The Austrian president emphasized the importance of vaccination for all countries, including developing and developing countries, adding that this also applied to North Korea.

“We are not aware of whether North Korea has taken any position with regard to [vaccine assistance],” he said.

“In case of any signal from North Korea [requesting help], we will, of course, help,” he added.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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