By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak ordered his Cabinet members Tuesday to look at ways of helping North Korea deal with the potential spread of Influenza A (H1N1).
Lee's comments were made during a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae and comes amid reports that the new flu virus has been spreading in the North.
"I think we should provide flu vaccines to North Korea unconditionally as part of humanitarian assistance," Lee said. "As there is a high possibility that the flu virus might spread rapidly given that the North's health environment is not so good, the assistance should be made as soon as possible."
Lee called for continued efforts to contain the spread of the virus here, saying the number of new cases is dropping but that infections could surge if left unchecked.
Seoul has virtually halted all its humanitarian and economic assistance to the communist North. Relations between the two Koreas quickly deteriorated after the conservative Lee took office early last year with a pledge to link progress at the six-party nuclear denuclearization talks with assistance to Pyongyang.
Meanwhile, the President urged efforts to eradicate irregularities in arms deals.
"Considering our unique security conditions on the Korean Peninsula, there is always a possibility of corruption on arms affairs. So a new mechanism in the arms acquisition process should be found," he said.
"We need a measure to save on the defense budget but raise the efficiency. That's a direction which will improve the public's trust on national defense."
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
