'Korean Diagnostic Kit' Approved by US FDA to be Shipped to the US on the 14th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Diagnostic kits for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) made in Korea, which received prior approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) following a direct request from U.S. President Donald Trump during a call with President Moon Jae-in, will be transported to the United States tomorrow (the 14th).

A senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters on the 13th, "Diagnostic kits produced by two of the three domestic companies that received prior emergency use authorization from the U.S. FDA are scheduled to be exported to the United States via air shipment tomorrow," adding, "The quantity from the other company will be transported through a distributor within the United States."

The specific quantities were not disclosed. It is known that the U.S. side will deploy cargo planes to transport the Korean diagnostic kits. The senior foreign ministry official stated, "The products from the two companies are being exported under the Federal Emergency Management Agency," and added, "Both South Korea and the U.S. have agreed not to disclose specific details such as export quantities."

As requests for Korean diagnostic kits have continued from 126 countries worldwide, the Korean government has been responding by forming a task force (TF) led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and related ministries since the end of last month. While President Moon Jae-in held phone consultations with leaders of 20 countries, it has been estimated that the volume of diagnostic kits exported or scheduled for export to those countries through diplomatic channels by domestic diagnostic kit companies amounts to 4.2 million tests.

The senior foreign ministry official explained, "Eight country leaders directly mentioned diagnostic kits, while the other leaders requested cooperation in quarantine and clinical matters," and added, "Including approximately 100,000 tests provided as humanitarian aid and 3.4 million tests not involving diplomatic channels, a total of 7.7 million diagnostic tests have been or are scheduled to be supplied overseas."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.