People leave Mansu hill after paying their respects before the statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on Oct. 10, 2020, as North Korea marked the 75th founding anniversary of its ruling party.
A U.N. Security Council panel has approved sanctions exemptions allowing for humanitarian assistance to North Korea.
Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) received the sanctions waiver on medical equipment needed to help measures against COVID-19, including surgical masks, protective clothing and face shields.
The aid agency was also granted exemptions on supplementary food to respond to malnutrition-related needs, as well as supplies necessary for its tuberculosis and multidrug resistant TB program in North Hamgyong Province.
According to the approval letter posted on the UNSC website, the exemptions will be in place until October 14, 2021.
North Korea has been struggling to recover from economic hardships exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and recent damage brought on by heavy rains and flooding.
<Photo: Yonhap News>
