A private South Korean aid agency is calling for more interest and assistance regarding its antituberculosis project for North Korean residents. 

The Eugene Bell Foundation held a press conference in Seoul on Friday to raise awareness about the plight of patients in the North, citing a major sponsor's decision to stop aid for tuberculosis and malaria projects. 

It called for help in swiftly securing more medicine, arguing that inventories will run out in the summer of 2020.

Noting that it takes as long as nine months to send medicine to the North, due to toughened regulations on delivery and customs procedures, the foundation also called for eased restrictions on the tuberculosis project.  

It also urged the South Korean government and public to help establish a systematic method of treating tuberculosis patients in the North.