Center notices

On 8 June the Ministry of Unification said that it had approved a Report of Contact with North Korean Residents and an application to carry goods out, both submitted by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, in line with the requirements of the relevant legislation. It is an example of a local government’s inter-Korean cooperation project going through the reporting and approval procedures, and it may be worth studying if you are preparing the same steps.

Outline of the case

• Applicant: Jeju Special Self-Governing Province
• Procedure: Report of Contact with North Korean Residents → application for Approval for Carrying Goods Out → approval by the Ministry of Unification
• Goods: medical equipment, chemicals for forest disaster prevention, hallabong saplings and similar items. They were reported to have been shipped through a third country, the port of Dalian in China, to the port of Nampo in North Korea.

Points worth noting

• Reporting contact and obtaining approval to carry goods out are separate procedures, taken in that order. The contact report comes first.
• Where goods pass through a third country, the shipping route and the customs documents become the central material in the review.
• For items of a clearly humanitarian character, such as medical or disaster-prevention supplies, whether an exemption from sanctions on North Korea is needed should be examined while the project is still being designed.

Consultation

If you are preparing a similar project at a local government or an organization, you are welcome to request a consultation to go through the order of the procedures and the documents required. The reports and approvals themselves are filed with, and handled by, the Ministry of Unification and the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation System.

Source: Asia Today, "Ministry of Unification approves Jeju’s applications for contact with North Korea and for carrying goods out" (8 June 2026) https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260608010002440