North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has harshly criticized the country’s response to the outbreak and ordered the military to help distribute drugs, state media reported on Monday, after 50 people had died in the disease’s first outbreak. country.
More than a million people have been infected with what Pyongyang calls a “fever,” according to official media, but Kim has declared a nationwide curfew to curb the spread of the disease among the population that has not been vaccinated against Covid.
According to the official KCNA news agency, Kim “strongly criticized” health officials for viewing it as a weak response to epidemic prevention, in a sign of the seriousness of the situation.
The country’s leader ordered the military commission to take action “to immediately stabilize the supply of medicines containing the powerful forces of the People’s Army medical branch in the city of Pyongyang,” KCNA reported.
Kim has taken the lead in responding to the health crisis by overseeing daily political cabinet meetings about the outbreak, which he says has caused “major disruption” in the country.
According to KCNA, Kim said on Sunday that “orders were not fulfilled properly and pharmacies were not dispensing medication.”
He also criticized the statement that pharmacies did not comply with the 24-hour working order.
According to analysts, North Korea has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units, no drugs to treat Covid, and no large-scale testing capacity.
“Kim Jong Un saw a drug shortage in North Korea while visiting a pharmacy,” Sejong Institute researcher Cheong Seong-jan told AFP. “The situation may be worse than expected.”
According to state media, 50 people have died, 1,213,550 people are suffering from “fever” and at least 564,860 are under medical treatment.
Although experts say that with the presence of the omicron variant in the region, it will be a matter of time before the spread of Covid-19 across the country, North Korea has maintained a tight coronavirus lockdown since the start of the pandemic.
Help from Seoul?
Yang Moo-jin, a professor of North Korean Studies at Seoul University, says Kim’s public criticism is a sign of how bad the situation is.
Yang said that North Korea will likely need international assistance to overcome the wave of the ohmron variant, before stating that the country will look to China at first, but perhaps to the United States or South Korea if the situation worsens.
Pyongyang rejected Chinese-made vaccine offers a few months ago, but Kim said the country would “actively learn” from Beijing’s pandemic strategy known as “covid zero”.
South Korea’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, said on Monday that he is ready to provide the necessary assistance to the North Korean people.
“If the North Korean authorities agree, we will not withhold necessary assistance such as medicines – including vaccines against Covid-19 – medical supplies and healthcare professionals,” he said in a statement to the South Korean National Assembly.
According to the Unification Ministry, Pyongyang did not respond to an official communication from Seoul detailing its offer of assistance against Covid.
Cheong Seong-jang said the decision whether to accept aid may depend more on Kim’s nuclear test plans than on a medical condition.
Despite the public health crisis, new satellite images show North Korea resuming construction of an inactive nuclear reactor.
The United States and South Korea have warned that the Kim Jong Un regime is preparing the country’s seventh nuclear test.
US President Joe Biden will visit Seoul next weekend. Pyongyang’s weapons program and the Covid-19 outbreak are expected to dominate the agenda.
source: Noticias
