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S. Korea to fund N. Korean doctors’ training in Germany

January 28, 2015
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) tours a hospital specializing in the treatment of soldiers. Kim's wife Ri Sol-ju is at third from right. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency reported it on May 19, 2014, without revealing the timing of the visit or the location of the venue. (Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) tours a hospital specializing in the treatment of soldiers. Kim’s wife Ri Sol-ju is at third from right. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported it on May 19, 2014, without revealing the timing of the visit or the location of the venue. (Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — South Korea said Wednesday it will resume a program to support North Korean medical doctors’ training in Germany.

The move, the first of its kind in seven years, is in line with the Park Geun-hye administration’s push for expanding humanitarian aid for the impoverished neighbor.

The unification ministry plans to provide a North Korea-Germany group with 90 million won (US$83,000) from the inter-Korean cooperation fund. It will be delivered through the (South) Korea Foundation for International Healthcare.

In 2001, the North Korea-Germany Medical Association launched a project to help train the communist nation’s doctors. A number of North Korean doctors were invited to Germany to learn the latest medical techniques for several months at local hospitals.

South Korea offered funds for the program in 2007 and 2008, but cut the assistance amid worsened relations with Pyongyang.