The Korean Medical Association (KMA), the nation’s largest organization of doctors, has dispatched an advance volunteer team to Venezuela to assess needs and prepare broader assistance in the wake of devastating earthquakes last week. The organization’s spokesman told The Korea Times on Friday that KMA Vice President Seo Jung-sung had departed earlier in the day for the quake-struck Caracas region with one staff member as its first team in the South American country. The KMA has been coordinating with the Venezuelan Medical Association ahead of the visit to ensure the mission responds to actual needs rather than providing only symbolic support. “As doctors, we believe our mission should not be bounded by national borders, and in that sense we see this as the right thing to do,” the spokesman said. “Before sending the team, we contacted the Venezuelan doctors’ group in advance and asked whether our team would really be of help, and they told us support is needed, so we decided to go.” As of Friday, the death toll from the two major earthquakes increased to 2,595, according t