International sanctions should not get in the way of humanitarian assistance for North Korea, South Korea’s unification minister Lee In-young said at a forum hosted by the Ministry of Unification (MOU) on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Korea Global Forum for Peace 2021, the minister argued that it is “international common sense and a consensus” to find ways to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korean residents as soon as possible regardless of the international sanctions regime, vowing financial help for nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to move forward such assistance.