US Ready To Facilitate Aid Approval To N. Korea Over Coronavirus Threat - State Department

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2020) The United States is concerned about the risk of novel coronavirus outbreak facing North Korea and is willing to facilitate approval of international aid to the country, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

"The United States is deeply concerned about the vulnerability of the North Korean people to a coronavirus outbreak," Ortagus said on Thursday. "We strongly support and encourage the work of US and international aid and health organizations to counter and contain the spread of coronavirus in the DPRK [North Korea]. The United States is ready and prepared to expeditiously facilitate the approval of assistance from these organizations."

Ortagus said the United States is worried about the vulnerability of the North Korean people to the coronavirus outbreak.

In the beginning of February, North Korea sent aid to China to help the country fight the deadly coronavirus outbreak. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un extended words of support in a letter to President Xi Jinping, the official Korean Central news Agency reported.

The novel strain of the coronavirus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December and has since spread to more than 25 countries. So far, the virus has infected some 60,000 people worldwide and killed more than 1,400 people.

In late January, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency.