North Korea's Red Cross says that continued global sanctions against Pyongyang are having a serious impact on the supply of basic medicine to the country.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies(IFRC) recently said on its Web site that despite a diplomatic thawing, the humanitarian situation in the communist country remains one of the world’s most chronic and forgotten crises.

The IFRC quoted the North's Red Cross Secretary General Ri Ho-rim as saying that the health situation is extremely worrying and the impact of sanctions on basic medicine is severe.

Ri said that the lack of vaccines, antiviral medicines, rapid testing kits, personal protective equipment for health workers and hand sanitizer were major factors in an influenza outbreak earlier this year.