The US State Department spokesperson in a statement said that the  United States is set to support providing humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable people of North Korea, but the UN sanctions must remain in place. UN Security Council resolutions regarding the DPRK remain in effect and all UN member states are bound by their obligations under those resolutions," the US spokesman Ned Price said

"When we think about and assess the humanitarian suffering of the people of the DPRK, the simple truth is that the DPRK regime itself is responsible for the humanitarian situation in the country,"  Ned Price said. He, however, insisted the US was already doing all it can to help ease the suffering of North Korean people.

"We are involved in endeavours to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid to the neediest in the DPRK. This is evidenced in a number of areas, including in our ongoing work to accelerate approvals in the UN 1718 committee for organisations from around the world to deliver life-saving aid to the DPRK," he said.  The remarks came shortly after UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights Tomas Ojea Quintana argued that the sanctions on the North should be eased during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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