South Korea to Help North Korea Modernize Its Regional Hospitals

Oct 08, 05:40 AM

Current Headlines: Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

[By Tony Chang]

Seoul, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) - South and North Koreas' top health officials have tentatively agreed to cooperate in modernizing regional hospitals in the communist country, Seoul's health minister said Monday.

"During unofficial talks with North Korean Health Minister Choi Chang-sik, we've agreed to seek joint projects to modernize provincial hospitals in the North," Byun Jae-jin, South Korea's health minister, told reporters.

Byun was part of a Seoul delegation that accompanied President Roh Moo-hyun [No Mu-hyo'n] during his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il [Kim Cho'ng-il] last week, where both sides also agreed to end military hostility and significantly expand inter- Korean cooperation in various fields.

The minister said last week that the two Koreas agreed to cooperate in welfare and medicine, possibly forming an inter-Korean medical body to deal with future peninsula-wide epidemics, Seoul's top health official said Thursday.

Choi, along with other top North Korean officials, reportedly requested South Korea to construct a pharmaceutical factory in Nampo, near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, according to Byun.

Seoul's on-and-off aid to the communist state has mostly focused on food and other necessities, while medical supplies to North Korea have been largely organized by non-governmental organizations and other private agencies.

North Korea's lack of basic medical supplies has often been cited in local and foreign media, with the country often requesting health- related supplies to combat diseases such as malaria and scarlet fever from the South.

Originally published by Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0859 8 Oct 07.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.