A group of 124 South Korean firms operating at the Kaesong complex will supply face masks to about 53,000 North Korean workers there at the North’s request. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean firms have decided to provide medical masks to North Korean workers at the inter-Korean industrial park to curb the spread of the MERS virus, a company official said Tuesday.
South Korea has already installed three thermal scanners at the industrial complex in the North’s border city of Kaesong to prevent the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome that has killed seven South Koreans since May.
A group of 124 South Korean firms operating at the Kaesong complex will supply face masks to about 53,000 North Korean workers there at the North’s request, the official said, asking not to be named.
The reclusive country has been highly sensitive to the outbreak of contagious diseases due to its weak health care system. Last year, Pyongyang imposed an entry ban on foreign tourists for about five months due to concerns over the deadly Ebola virus.
In November, the South lent three thermal scanners to the North amid growing fears of the Ebola virus globally. In 2009, the North made a similar request over concerns of avian flu.
(Yonhap)
