The United Nations North Korea sanctions committee granted an exemption to the entry of necessary equipment into the North for conducting the UN's aid program in the country.

According to Voice of America on Thursday, the sanctions committee approved last week a request made by the United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) to take nine ambulances worth 191-thousand dollars into the North.

The latest exemptions were required for the UNICEF's project to eradicate tuberculosis and malaria in the impoverished state and 520-thousand-dollars worth of related items were given permission for entry in January.

The vehicles will travel from the Chinese city of Dandong to Sinuiju in the North and their entry will be permitted for six months until February.

The sanctions committee also extended the exemption period for the U.S.-based Mennonite Central Committee, whose programs focus on improving the health and nutrition of North Korean children.

The U.S. group had been allowed to deliver sanitary and surgery-related supplies into the North in March.