S. Korea mulls sending anti-malaria supplies to N. Korea

SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea is considering allowing a civic organization to provide anti-malaria supplies to North Korea, the aid group said Wednesday.
The move comes a day after other private groups trucked 300 tons of flour to the North for the first time since the North's deadly shelling of a front-line South Korean island last year.



South Korea imposed sanctions on the North last year in retaliation for the November attack and the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
The two attacks killed 50 South Koreans and heightened public animosity against Pyongyang, though Seoul has selectively approved humanitarian and medical aid to North Korea.
The Korean Sharing Movement has requested that the government approve the shipment of two pieces of ultrasonic diagnostic equipment to the North, according to the civic group.
Under the current law, South Koreans are required to get the government's endorsement before meeting with North Koreans and giving aid to the North.
No malaria deaths have been reported in North Korea for nearly two decades, though there were more than 14,840 probable and confirmed malaria cases in 2009, according to the World Health Organization.
Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said the government will review whether to approve the shipment.
South Korea has previously provided the North with anti-malaria aid.