The UN Security Council has granted a sanctions exemption to allow a humanitarian project meant to improve children's health and nutrition in North Korea to move forward, according to the UN website.

The exemption, granted on March 14, paves the way for an aid organization, Mennonite Central Committee, to bring items, such as hygiene kits and surgical tools, into North Korea.

The approval raised the total number of humanitarian exemptions related to North Korea currently in effect to 21. The exemptions are valid for six months.

Humanitarian activities are not banned under international sanctions, but related materials are subject to sanctions waivers from the UN.

Regarding the medical equipment, the group said it will deliver the items by hand during a monitoring visit in May.

Last week, the Voice of America said US charity group Christian Friends of Korea embarked on a three-week trip to North Korea, marking the first visit to the country by a US aid organization since Washington said in December it will review its ban on American citizens' travel to the North for humanitarian activities. (Yonhap)