The United Nations said that supporting access to COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility and the roll-out of vaccinations in North Korea is a UN priority this year.

The UN spokesperson's office issued the position in an interview with the Voice of America(VOA) on Friday, adding that such efforts are for protecting the most vulnerable populations. 

The office said UN colleagues at the World Health Organization(WHO) and UNICEF have been working with the North's Ministry of Public Health to develop a COVID-19 vaccine national roll-out plan and other guidelines and monitoring tools. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department told the VOA on Thursday that Washington has no plan to share its COVID-19 vaccines with North Korea.

North Korea was initially supposed to receive about two million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India through COVAX. But the first shipment set for last month was delayed after the North failed to provide detail of its vaccine distribution schedule and balked at granting access to international health monitors.

[Photo : YONHAP News]