North Korea has announced the outbreak of a new intestinal disease

It is unclear how many people are affected by what the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) calls. severe enteric epidemics in the city of Haeju, in the southwest of the country.

The agency also did not identify the disease, however enteric refers to intestinal diseases – such as typhoid fever, dysentery and cholera – caused by contaminated food or water, or by contact with the stool of infected people.

Such diseases are common in North Korea, where water treatment facilities are scarce and the public health system has been weak for decades.

A strategy to restore Kim Jong-un’s image

Observers believe the announcement was not really intended to testify about the infections, but instead to expose that leader Kim Jong-un donated drugs from his personal hide-a clear move to strengthen his image during the crisis.

The KCNA news agency said the drugs Kim Jong-un donated came from what he called his family’s reserve. The country’s main daily, Rodong Sinmun, carried a front-page photo showing Kim and her husband Ri Sol-ju reviewing the salt and drug solutions the publication said they had donated. .

In a country where power is concentrated in the hands of a narrow elite and hospitals lack even the most essential supplies, defectors say it is common practice for those capable of storing medicine. at home – and top leaders often do this. more than ordinary citizens.

Observers point out that the drugs may have come only from public supplies, but were given in Kim Jong-un’s name.

The outbreak of measles or typhoid is not uncommon in North Korea. I think it is true that there has been an outbreak of a contagious disease, but North Korea is taking this opportunity to show that Kim cares about her people.says Ahn Kyung-su, the owner of the site dprkhealth.org, which focuses on health issues in North Korea. So this is a message that is more political than medical.

North Korea faces other health problems

Last month, North Korea witnessed an increase in the number of patients with fever. At the time, South Korean intelligence said a significant numbers patients had measles, typhoid fever or whooping cough.

The KCNA agency revealed on Thursday that more than 4.5 million of the country’s 26 million residents have been affected by unknown fever, which has caused 73 deaths. The country, which apparently has no coronavirus test kits, has only identified a fraction of those cases as COVID-19.

Many experts doubt North Korea’s record, saying the numbers are likely to be reduced to protect Kim from political damage.

North Korea recently showed progress in slowing the spread of COVID-19, but a World Health Organization official said the agency believes the situation is worsening instead.

South Korea offered health assistance to its neighbor on Thursday. A previous offer by South Korea and the United States of COVID-19 vaccines was not answered.