The government plans to implement administrative measures in the approval process for exporting strategic materials to North Korea, following its decision two years ago to abolish the designated North Korean aid provider system to streamline the export of humanitarian aid supplies.
On Monday, the Ministry of Unification announced a public notice for a partial amendment to the Approval Procedure for Exporting Strategic Materials to North Korea. The ministry will gather feedback on the proposed changes until December 8.
The amendment includes replacing the requirement for documents proving the applicant’s status as a North Korean aid provider with a North Korean aid project agreement in the export approval application process.
Previously, in April 2023, the Ministry of Unification abolished the designated North Korean aid provider system as part of revisions to the Regulations on Humanitarian Aid Projects and Cooperation with North Korea. This amendment aims to address the inconsistency in the approval procedures for exporting strategic materials, which had not reflected these changes at the time.
The Ministry of Unification established the North Korean Aid Provider Support System in October 1990 to enhance transparency and promote private-sector aid initiatives for North Korea. Under this system, only government-designated aid providers could export humanitarian supplies or receive support from the inter-Korean cooperation fund.
However, the Ministry of Unification eliminated the step of designating aid providers, simplifying the export process for humanitarian supplies. The new system allows one-time projects to receive approval for item exports, while ongoing projects can obtain approval for North Korean aid cooperation projects.
A Ministry of Unification official clarified that there has been no change in policy and said the ministry is simply adjusting administrative rules to maintain consistency, which had not been fully achieved during the initial revisions.
According to the current Approval Procedure for Exporting Strategic Materials to North Korea, strategic materials are defined as items specified in Article 19, Paragraph 2 of the Foreign Trade Act and Article 2, Item 1 of the Strategic Materials Export and Import Notification. However, parts of the notice describing these materials will also be revised due to recent changes in related laws.