◆ Lack of trust in the regime a reason for spreading rumors
Another reporting partner, living in Musan County, North Hamkyung Province, told ASIAPRESS on February 6 that an announcement was made through a propaganda channel installed in all houses, "criticizing individual citizens by name for spreading false rumors and raising their prices at markets."
In Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, where trade volume between N. Korea and China is largest, rumors spread of two cases of infection in early February. Word of this spread to other areas, including Ryanggang Province, where it was then rumored that Sinuiju would soon be blocked off from the rest of the country. The authorities there are said to be making efforts to extinguish the rumors and calm down the local population.
In addition, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo reported on February 7 that they had received news from a source in North Korea that a woman in Pyongyang had been infected with the coronavirus. Whether true or not, word of a "report from South Korea" will likely spread throughout the North.
The Kim Jong-un regime has repeatedly announced through the Rodong Sinmun and various TV broadcasts that "the state's quarantine measures are thorough and that there are no cases of infection in the country." However, most North Koreans do not trust the state media and look to outside sources for more trustworthy information. ASIAPRESS reporting partners are no exception and have been inquiring regularly about the death toll in China and the severity of the disease.
As imports of Chinese goods have been suspended due to the border blockade, the general public now fears that the economy will be thrown into chaos. Rather than fearing the coronavirus, they are afraid of inflation and a shortage of basic necessities. Especially in areas far from the Chinese border, citizens are much less concerned about the disease.
New cases of infection were reported in China’s Liaoning and Jilin Provinces, on the border with North Korea. The Kim Jong-un regime has blocked tourists from entering the country since January 22 and trade activity has been halted at the Chinese border since late January as well. (Kang Ji-won)
※ ASIAPRESS contacts reporting partners in North Korea through smuggled Chinese mobile phones.
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Editor’s notes on North Korean reporters
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