(PORTLAND, ORE. - Oct. 2, 2007) A senior relief worker with Medical Teams International leaves tomorrow for North Korea. Bill Essig, vice president of international programs, will travel with representatives from Christian Friends of Korea, a group working in North Korea since 1995, to confirm the arrival of an emergency shipment of medicines.

The team also plans to meet with North Korean officials to begin discussions about a potential partnership between the Portland-based relief agency and the North Korean Ministry of Health.

Essig expects to tour North Korean hospitals and clinics which received more than $1 million in critically needed medicines from Medical Teams International and its partner relief agencies last month.

The supplies—antibiotics, malaria and cholera medicines—are helping 20,000 people affected by this year's flooding. Torrential rains have left hundreds dead, destroyed 10 percent of the annual crop and impacted nearly 1 million North Koreans. The flooding has also destroyed thousands of hospitals and clinics and contaminated medical supplies that were already few in number.

"We hope this visit will break new ground for Medical Teams International and North Korea," says Essig. "Our goal is to explore how we can help the people rebuild after the floods. We'll also discuss the possibility of sending medical volunteers to collaborate with North Korean healthcare workers."

Essig will hand carry equipment and supplies when he arrives In Pyongyang, including stethoscopes, otoscopes, emergency blankets and blood pressure cuffs. Medical Teams International sent medical supplies to North Korea (also known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) in 1998 and deployed an assessment team following a typhoon in 1997.

North Korea's recent appeal for humanitarian aid is a dramatic shift from earlier policy positions on outside assistance. "We're grateful for this open door," says Essig.