US supports provision of COVID

This file photo taken on Nov. 21, 2017, shows a general view of a public square in North Korea's northeastern border city of Rason. AFP-Yonhap

The United States has no immediate plan to directly provide COVID-19 vaccine to North Korea but supports international efforts to assist the impoverished country cope with the pandemic, the State Department said Monday.

"While we have no plans to provide vaccines to the DPRK, we continue to support international efforts aimed at the provision of critical humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable North Koreans," a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency, asking not to be identified.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

The remarks come after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his country will help push for international support for the North if Pyongyang asked.

"If North Korea agrees, (we) will push proactively for cooperation on vaccine supplies for it," Moon said in a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, in Vienna.

North Korea claims to have detected no confirmed case of the new coronavirus within its borders.

The country has maintain a strict border control since the start of the pandemic early last year. (Yonhap)

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