{"id":4594,"date":"2020-05-26T18:59:16","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T09:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4594"},"modified":"2022-05-16T18:01:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T09:01:09","slug":"4594","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2020\/05\/recommendations\/4594\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cN. Korea Pro Report (Part 5)\uff1e How is N. Korea\u2019s Economy Faring in the Face of the Coronavirus Pandemic and Continued Sanctions? A Look at the Regime\u2019s COVID-19 Countermeasures"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Young soldiers seen bathing and washing clothes alongside the Yalu River. Their ribs are clearly visible. These types of outings have been banned as a countermeasure against possible coronavirus infection. This photo of soldiers in Sakju County, North Pyongan Province, was taken from the Chinese side of the Yalu River in July 2017 by ISHIMARU Jiro.<\/p><\/div>\n

North Korea\u2019s authorities continue to claim that, as of May 25, there are \u201czero coronavirus infections\u201d in the country. Is this true? To find out the reality of the situation in the north, ASIAPRESS has been investigating the matter since late January in collaboration with reporting partners living across North Korea.<\/p>\n

Part1 >>><\/strong> \uff1cN. Korea Pro Report (Part 1)\uff1e How is North Korea\u2019s Economy Faring in the Face of the Coronavirus Pandemic and Continued Sanctions?<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking at the results of our investigation and information provided by state media, it must be said that the Kim jong-un regime has made great progress in preventing the initial spread of the coronavirus. It seems that the early decision to close the border with China and introduce quarantine measures was quite effective. This is not to say that life for locals has been easy, their suffering invisible to the outside world, North Korean citizens have had to make huge sacrifices to maintain the current situation.<\/p>\n

In mid-January, North Korea banned foreigners from entering the country just before the start of the Lunar New Year tourism season, following news of the outbreak in Wuhan, China. The North Korean authorities closed the border with China entirely, suspending trade since the end of January. Inside the country, it was as if martial law had been declared. All trade and customs officials who had been in contact with foreigners were forced into quarantine for 30 days. \u201cMask checks\u201d were even conducted in parts of the country. Trains continued to run but car traffic and other individual transport were stopped almost entirely.<\/p>\n

Indeed, domestic countermeasures were highly coercive. In the northern part of the country close to China, residents were informed that accessing border streams would be punished by military law. Rumors spread in February that smugglers who had returned recently from China were executed, along with a man who had attempted to escape quarantine. (It is possible, however, that the authorities spread false rumors to intimidate the local population.)<\/p>\n

According to a report submitted by North Korea\u2019s health authorities to the World Health Organization, about 25,000 people had been monitored or placed under quarantine as of early April. It is unknown whether this figure is accurate but the number of quarantined citizens is unusually high for a country that supposedly has \u201czero infections.\u201d According to a reporting partner, officials were quarantined in hotels and ordinary citizens were quarantined in offices or warehouses. One family was apparently kept in quarantine in their house for an entire month. During the quarantine period, citizens had to pay for their own meals.<\/p>\n

These rapid and compulsory responses, which did not require any consideration for human rights or personal circumstances, are typical of a country with a poor medical and health infrastructure. Dr. Ki-Beom Park, a Korean-American who has visited North Korean hospitals over the last 13 years said, \u201cThere is likely no more than 50 respirators in the whole country.\u201d<\/p>\n

If an epidemic were to spread across the country, with infections overcoming the military, security agencies, and powerful core in Pyongyang, the regime\u2019s operations would be significantly disrupted, requiring even more outside support and creating a huge national sense of crisis.<\/p>\n

\u25c6 Prudent medical examinations but insufficient supplies<\/h2>\n

In order to understand the reality faced by North Korea\u2019s medical field, reporting partners living in Ryanggang and North Hamkyung Provinces were asked to investigate the situations at hospitals and clinics. The findings showed that the authorities were taking surprisingly prudent countermeasures.<\/p>\n

For example, people with cold-like symptoms were told to not come to the hospital but to, instead, first receive \u201cremote treatment\u201d by phone. In addition, medical staff were told to examine patients at a distance of at least 2 meters or more. In cases of suspected infection, patients were instructed to contact the quarantine center to receive a registration card, recording their address, workplace, and recent activities. Furthermore, those working at trading companies or living near the Yalu River on the Chinese border, were designated as high-risk individuals and monitored. Information on the progress of these countermeasures was collected each day at local hospitals, which were designated as bases for such operations.<\/p>\n

It can be said that the countermeasures were quite reasonable and effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus to health care personnel and in identifying possible routes of transmission. This system, it seems, was established in late February.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, according to the reporting partners\u2019 investigation, there were no coronavirus infection tests conducted in any of the medical facilities visited as of early April. Though rumors of infections and coronavirus deaths have spread widely, there has been no solid information available. This may be due to a gag order from the regime or it may be simply due to the fact that the medical and quarantine officials had no way to check for the infection, at least in the provincial cities.<\/p>\n

In a press conference on April 27, China\u2019s Foreign Ministry announced that it had sent coronavirus test kits to North Korea. And, in a letter delivered to Kim Jong-un on May 9, President Xi Jinping emphasized his country\u2019s support for North Korea\u2019s countermeasure efforts.
\nNext page :\u25c6 90% decrease in trade with China deals huge blow to domestic economy...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

(Picture)Captured in summer of 2013, a political rally to celebrate the greatness of Kim Jong-il. Photographed by ASIAPRESS.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6 90% decrease in trade with China deals huge blow to domestic economy<\/h2>\n

Rapid and thorough coronavirus countermeasures have unfortunately had a massive impact on the economy. Due to the border blockade and restriction of domestic movement, the prices of Chinese goods have risen tremendously and markets have fallen into recession. In addition, many citizens in the border regions were employed in cargo shipping and depended upon the work for their source of cash income.<\/p>\n

Chinese food, over-the-counter medicine, and clothing had all but disappeared from local markets by April. Various reporting partners said to ASIAPRESS, \u201cThe number of people eating 2 meals or fewer a day has really skyrocketed\u201d and \u201cpeople are saying that they will sooner die of starvation than from coronavirus infection.\u201d<\/p>\n

On April 23, Chinese customs authorities issued a report with trade figures from March. According to the report, North Korean exports to China amounted to only $610,000, down 96.2% from the same period the year before. Imports also fell by 90.8% to $18.03 million. The report detailed an overall 91.3% decrease to total exports and imports between the countries. Due to the UN Security Council\u2019s economic sanctions imposed in 2017, North Korea\u2019s trade volume in 2019 was almost half of what it was in 2016. In addition, in March 2020, imports from China included mainly quarantine-related aid, meaning that proper trade was almost halted entirely.<\/p>\n

State-run smuggling operations at sea and along the Yalu River have been almost completely stopped as well. A Korean-Chinese acquaintance from Liaoning Province, who worked as an interpreter aboard a Chinese vessel for large-scale smuggling operations with North Korean fish and shellfish traders, lamented the fact that North Korean authorities had discontinued the covert transshipments.<\/p>\n

According to a trade broker from Jilin Province, the Chinese customs authorities have signaled that trade could be resumed after late May, though Beijing is wary of the possibility of coronavirus being spread from North Korea. In the meantime, North Korean citizens will continue to face difficulties and the government, including the military, police, and Party agencies, will face reductions in their operating funds.<\/p>\n

\u25c6 Mobilizing laborers for the economy will hinder quarantine efforts<\/h2>\n

In terms of countermeasures against the coronavirus, North Korea\u2019s dictatorial system made quarantine measures easier to enforce. Indeed, the movement of North Korean citizens was already highly controlled and people had few means of high-speed travel. The North Korean system also had several drawbacks though.<\/p>\n

One drawback is North Korea\u2019s military barracks, where a million soldiers live together in tight quarters. In fact, the wing of the military which specializes in national construction projects has its recruits live together in tents throughout the year. There are more than 100,000 soldiers detached to units such as this.<\/p>\n

Mobilization of the public for daily political events also poses a risk by increasing the risk of possible transmission. All North Koreans belong to political organizations and have daily activities relating to these organizations. There is the Youth Alliance for those under 40, general unions for laborers, the Workers\u2019 Party for party members, and the Women\u2019s alliance for housewives. These organizations hold compulsory self-criticism sessions for members every Saturday. Citizens are also frequently mobilized for political ideology study sessions, anti-American rallies, and commemorations for the anniversaries of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il\u2019s births.<\/p>\n

Each year, from early April to early summer, the public is mobilized to assist farmers with sowing and planting. With residents transported from the cities out to the rural areas of the country, this period brings the largest movement of people each year. Naturally, the mobilization will bring an increased risk of coronavirus infections. Reporting partners from various parts of the country have confirmed that the mobilization process \u201cbegan around April 25.\u201d As North Korea\u2019s economy depends upon the mobilization of its people, keeping coronavirus at bay will prove to be very difficult.<\/p>\n

In order to prevent coronavirus infections in the North Korean People\u2019s Army, the Kim Jong-un regime has completely isolated its troops and banned soldiers from going off-base, where they may come into contact with civilians. According to various reporting partners, as of mid-May, the only soldiers to be seen out on the streets are the officers in charge of enforcing the isolation orders. In addition, the health of soldiers on bases is said to be rapidly deteriorating, as they are blocked from their usual sources of supplementary food.<\/p>\n

Though North Korea will be in a rush to recover economically and resume trade and travel across the Chinese border, domestic countermeasures against coronavirus must be well-maintained. The mobilization of the population and the organizational activities required to uphold the North Korean system, however, will pose a great threat to domestic quarantine efforts. This will be a huge cause for concern and likely pose the greatest challenge that the Kim Jong-un regime has faced thus far in its 8 years of rule.<\/p>\n

Residents are frequently mobilized for political rallies and ideology study sessions by their workplaces and political organizations. These activities pose a great risk of transmission and may result in coronavirus hotbeds. This photo, taken by ASIAPRESS in June 2013, shows women of Ryanggang Province gathered for a political ideology study session.<\/p>\n

\n
\uff1cRelated Article\uff1e<\/div>\n