Return the favour: South Korea looks to U.S. for COVID-19 vaccine aid

FILE PHOTO: South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong speaks during a joint announcement with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, March 25, 2021. Ahn Young-joon/Pool via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea hopes the United States will help it tackle a shortage of coronavirus vaccine in return for test kits and masks Seoul sent to Washington earlier in the pandemic, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

The government has drawn fire from the media for not doing enough to secure enough vaccines early, with just 3% of the population inoculated, due to tight global supply and limited access.