Jeju Island has confirmed sending medical equipment and forest pest control materials to North Korea.
On Monday, Jeju Island announced that as part of inter-Korean cooperation efforts, approximately 1.16 billion KRW (about 764,700 USD) worth of aid, including a dialysis machine, forest pest control chemicals, and 50 Hallabong citrus saplings, arrived at North Korea’s Nampo Port on May 4. The shipment departed from Incheon Port on April 1 and transited through Dalian, China.
Jeju Island received approval from the Ministry of Unification for exporting these items to North Korea in March.
However, officials noted they have not received official confirmation of the items’ arrival in North Korea.
This aid from Jeju Island is part of a broader inter-Korean cooperation initiative. The project gained traction when Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon met with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young last November 5, requesting to resume citrus shipments to North Korea.
Following this, Jeju Island sought support from the Chinese government for inter-Korean cooperation during a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to South Korea.
In February, Jeju Island sent a delegation to Beijing, where they reached a general agreement with North Korean officials on inter-Korean cooperation.
The two sides agreed to initially focus on cooperation in citrus farming, medical welfare, and forest pest control, with plans to expand into livestock and tourism industries in the future.
Kim Yang-bo, director of Jeju’s Tourism Exchange Bureau, held a press briefing at the provincial government office, stating that Jeju Island is committed to sustaining inter-Korean cooperation projects and working towards a sustainable future for both Koreas.
He added that however, it cannot disclose specific details about the North Korean officials we met regarding inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation.
While there’s no official confirmation, Jeju Island believes the items were received by the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled, a North Korean cooperating organization.
Historically, Jeju Island’s citrus shipment project to North Korea began in 1999 with 100 tons and continued until 2010, sending a total of 66,000 tons of citrus and carrots over 12 years.
The project was suspended after inter-Korean relations deteriorated following the Cheonan sinking incident. Since then, Jeju citrus has been sent to North Korea sporadically in 2018 and 2021, separate from official inter-Korean cooperation projects.
Jeju Island established an inter-Korean exchange cooperation fund in 2008, in accordance with its ordinance on inter-Korean exchanges. As of the end of last year, the fund’s balance stood at 8 billion KRW (about 5.3 million USD).