PYONGYANG, North Korea (Reuters) — North Korea held a congress of its Red Cross Society on Tuesday (October 18) in Pyongyang.
Video provided by KCNA, which Reuters cannot independently verify, showed North Korean officials and foreign delegations were seen attending the congress at the People’s Palace of Culture in Pyongyang.
Delegations from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Danish, Finnish and British Red Cross, and diplomatic envoys attended the congress, KCNA said.
During the congress, which marks its 70th anniversary, the humanitarian activities, strategic plan and budget of North Korea’s Red Cross Society are expected to be reviewed, KCNA added.
“I highly appreciate that Red Cross Society has been excelling in carrying out its role and responsibility as a sub-organization for the government in securing people’s lives and properties, and helping the people to have a healthier and more civilized life,” North Korea’s vice president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, Yang Hyong Sop, said at his congratulatory speech.
North Korea’s Red Cross Society was founded in 1946 and was admitted into the International Federation in 1956, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).