South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has been designated an affiliated center of the World Health Organization (WHO) on biomedicine standardization and evaluation.

It is the second time the ministry was designated as the WHO Collaborating Center since 2011.

The ministry will carry out WHO’s international health programs until January 2019.

The ministry will support efforts to produce international standards regarding biomedicine, carry out international joint research projects, help the West Pacific countries implement international standards.

The ministry and WHO will jointly pursue official development assistance projects on biomedicine authorization and technical assistance in the West Pacific countries.

The ministry also pledged to strengthen its international cooperation system and help domestic companies advance into foreign markets.