Lee In-young "We Should Share COVID-19 Vaccines with North Korea"… North Korea "We Can Survive Without Them"

Minister of Unification: "True sharing is when we share in times of shortage rather than when there is plenty"
North Korea reaffirms refusal of external COVID-19 aid

Minister of Unification Lee In-young attended the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on September 25 and received a briefing from a Unification Ministry official before the meeting began. At the meeting, Minister Lee reported on the recent issue concerning the shooting of a government official by North Korea near Soyeonpyeongdo. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, expressed the need to share COVID-19 vaccines with North Korea, while North Korea reaffirmed its stance of not accepting any external assistance regarding epidemic prevention.

On the 19th, the Workers' Party of Korea's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, published an editorial titled "Emergency Epidemic Prevention is the Most Important Task of the Party and the State," stating, "Faced with the fateful choice of whether to risk our children's lives by looking beyond the borders for non-essential supplies or to endure and protect our children, we stand at a critical crossroads."

It added, "In many countries, the epidemic situation is worsening due to a second wave of the malignant infectious disease," and argued, "If we cannot live and fight with the spirit of defending our homeland, the fate of our country and people will be toyed with by the terrifying disease."

The newspaper emphasized, "If the epidemic prevention front falters, all fronts of socialist construction will be endangered," and stated, "While mistakes may occur and be corrected in other fields, in today's emergency epidemic prevention battle, even minor errors and mistakes are absolutely unacceptable."

When COVID-19 began spreading in earnest in Wuhan, China, in January this year, North Korea was the first in the world to close its borders. Since then, it has consistently indicated its refusal to accept support from the South Korean government or international organizations.

North Korea declared in August that it would not accept external aid citing COVID-19 epidemic prevention, even after suffering flood damage. At that time, Chairman Kim Jong-un publicly ordered, "Do not allow any external support related to the flood damage."

On September 16th, Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, who visited Panmunjom in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, is waving his hand from the south side of the Military Demarcation Line toward Panmungak in North Korea.

On the other hand, the South Korean government views inter-Korean health and medical cooperation as a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations and has been steadily sending signals.

Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, appeared on KBS News 9 on the 18th and announced plans to formally propose talks to North Korea once the COVID-19 situation eases. He particularly emphasized inter-Korean cooperation and solidarity regarding COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, given the severe economic impact of the pandemic on North Korea.

Minister Lee said, "If the South and North can cooperate on treatments and vaccines, North Korea could create an opportunity to alleviate some of the economic sacrifices it has endured due to its COVID-19 prevention system."

He also proposed sharing COVID-19 vaccines between the two Koreas, stating, "I believe that sharing when we are somewhat lacking is more genuine than sharing when we have plenty."

Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in has emphasized equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

In a virtual speech at the 75th United Nations General Assembly held in New York last September, President Moon said, "International organizations should pre-purchase sufficient quantities of vaccines through international fundraising so that developing countries can also benefit," and added, "South Korea will actively support the development and distribution of affordable vaccines for developing countries."

The government has pledged to contribute 10 million dollars to the 'COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC),' launched to support COVID-19 vaccine access for developing countries.

COVAX is a vaccine procurement and distribution mechanism led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), aiming for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

It is divided into the 'COVAX Facility,' where economically capable countries pay in advance to secure future vaccines, and the COVAX AMC, which uses funds from high-income countries to provide vaccines at low cost to developing countries.

Currently, a total of 92 countries, including South Korea, plan to pre-purchase vaccines, while 92 developing countries, including North Korea, participate to receive support.

The government reportedly considered using its contribution to support North Korea but the plan was abandoned. According to COVAX AMC policy, donor countries cannot designate beneficiary countries.

Additionally, the government uses Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds for this contribution, but ODA funds are legally restricted to supporting other countries. Constitutionally, North Korea is considered part of Korea.

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