SEOUL — The Red Cross called for an urgent exemption from sanctions on North Korea on Thursday to help prevent an outbreak of the coronavirus, following an epidemic in neighbouring China. An exemption allowing for a bank transfer to the IFRC country office in North Korea "is essential as a life-saving intervention," he added. "There is currently no other mode available for humanitarian intervention and we must act now." International sanctions bar a wide range of business, trade, and other interactions with North Korea. The sanctions were imposed over the country’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, which were developed in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Source: International New York Times February 13, 2020 09:45 UTC