North Korea acknowledges experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19 for the first time

The extent of the spread of COVID-19 in this country is unknown, but it could have serious consequences because North Korea has a poor health care system and its 26 million people are virtually unvaccinated. Some experts believe that the entry into North Korea, which has been hit by the pandemic, may be a signal that it is seeking outside help.

Korea’s official news agency said tests on samples taken on Sunday from an unknown number of people with fever in the capital, Pyongyang, confirmed they were infected with the Omicron variant.

In response to the situation, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for the complete lockdown of cities and counties and said workplaces should be isolated by units to prevent the spread of the virus. announced by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The country’s 26 million people are reported to be virtually unvaccinated, with the government avoiding vaccines offered by the UN -supported COVAX distribution program, likely because such vaccines are subject to international control requirements.

The KCNA said Kim Jong-un convened a meeting of the Korean Workers’ Party of the ruling Politburo, where members decided to increase measures against the virus.

At the meeting, the North Korean leader asked officials to stabilize shipments and remove the source of the infection as soon as possible.

Despite the decision to increase health measures, Kim Jong-un instructed officials to continue planned construction, agricultural development and other state projects while strengthening the country’s defense measures to prevent any lack of security.

Destructive consequences

Kim Jong-un said officials should also lay down measures to reduce public inconvenience and other negative situations that could explode as a result of more stringent health measures. He said that the unity of the population is the most powerful guarantee that can win this battle against pandemicreported by the KCNA.

The announcement of confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Korea followed NK News, a news site focused on North Korea, cited unnamed sources who said authorities had implemented a lockdown on Pyongyang residents. The South Korean government said it could not confirm the report.

North Korea is one of the last places in the world with no recognized cases of coronavirus. Turkmenistan, an equally secretive and authoritarian country in Central Asia, has not reported any cases to the World Health Organization (WHO), although its claim is also widely doubted by outside experts. In recent months, several Pacific islands that have avoided the virus because of their geographic isolation have recorded outbreaks.

Experts say a major outbreak of COVID-19 would have devastating consequences due to North Korea’s weak health care system and could potentially trigger instability when combined with other issues such as severe food shortages.

North Korea’s previous statement that there is no coronavirus on its territory has been disputed by many experts. However, South Korean officials said North Korea is likely to avoid an outbreak entirely, in part because it has initiated strict control of the virus almost from the start of the pandemic.

Prevention measures for more than two years

In early 2020, before the coronavirus spread around the world, North Korea quarantined people with symptoms similar to COVID-19 and virtually stopped cross-border traffic and trade for two years. He allegedly even ordered the troops to shoot when they saw anyone intruding crossing his borders.

North Korea has closed its border to almost all trade and visitors for two years, further shaken by an economy damaged by decades of mismanagement and crippled by U.S. sanctions against its export program, nuclear weapons and missiles.

In January, North Korea temporarily reopened freight rail traffic between its border town of Sinuiju and the Chinese city of Dandong, but China announced a halt to that traffic last month as it faced the spread of COVID-19. in Dandong.

Experts say Kim Jong-un has not yet sought public help, including COVID-19 vaccines, from the United States and South Korea amid a prolonged stalemate in nuclear diplomacy.