Seoul, Dec 9 (IANS): A UN Security Council (UNSC) panel has approved sanctions exemptions for an aid project by the Unicef to help North Korea respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and the prevention of malaria, it was revealed on Thursday.

The approval by the North Korea sanctions committee will pave the way for Unicef's provision of materials worth $1.48 million, including vaccine cold chain equipment, ventilators and masks, according to a document posted on the Council's website.

The exemptions were approved on November 30 and will last for a year, Yonhap News Agency quoted the committee as saying.

The items will be shipped via the Chinese port of Dalian to the North's western port of Nampo.

The sanctions waiver comes as the reclusive country has been struggling with persistent economic woes amid pandemic-driven border controls and crippling economic sanctions.

The North has claimed to be coronavirus free.

It has yet to accept Covid-19 vaccines allocated to the country through the COVAX Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform.