NorthKoreanRefugees.com

LFNKR is deeply concerned about the vulnerability of North Korean people to the coronavirus outbreak, since the majority of North Koreans are malnourished and suffer from weakened immunity.  The government in Pyongyang has closed its border with China, leading to extreme supply shortage.  This means that the already starving people are starving more in North Korea.

The following is a report by a former medical doctor in North Hwanhae Province, North Korea.

I was the director of a hospital until 2006, but I believe that there have been no significant changes in the status of sanitation and medical treatment in North Korea.

The characteristics of the system for hygiene and epidemic control in North Korea indicate that “the party’s medical policy is preventive medicine” and its functions are well divided. It is structured from the central level to province and military level stations.

Hygiene and epidemic control stations work closely with physicians in health care organizations to promote the propagation of hygiene, vaccination. Management for the prevention of communicable diseases extends from neighborhood units, to townships, then to individual families. A system to detect diseases or contagious diseases is established with sanitary stations which consist of sanitary defense departments specializing in parasites, infectious diseases and laboratories.

Despite North Korea’s rapid economic deterioration and lack of sanitation generally, still there are certain advantages. Since the North Korean Famine in the mid-1990s, the backward state of the transport system, including trains and buses, is considered a factor in slowing the spread of communicable diseases in North Korea.

North Korea, which operates nationwide under the command of a lone dictator, is a country where it is the easiest to implement blocking, containment and isolation.

It is thought that these characteristics may help minimize the spread of COVID-19, which travels in waves.

The North Korean Famine, the so called “Arduous March,” which began in the mid-1990s, has also made a big difference in the hygiene and epidemic prevention program of North Korea.

North Korea’s medical facilities are mainly from the 70’s and 80’s and are largely inoperative due to age and failure problems.

In addition, due to the lack of necessary reagents to confirm infectious diseases, early detection is not possible. Diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms and if in doubt, measures like self-isolation are taken. In reality, however, people are more likely to face death due to the lack of necessary medical care. 

In addition, because of the lack of preventive medicines, there is no systematic vaccination. Therefore, even minor germs can have serious consequences due to the lack of medical supplies and malnutrition.

The treatment of infectious diseases in North Korea is also a serious problem. There is a severe shortage of treatment for pneumonia resulting from SARS, MERS, COVID-19, and influenza, so people must rely upon treatment by self-procured medications.

In addition to causative therapy, the level of knowledge about symptomatic therapy including anti-inflammatory, fluid and nutritional therapy is also low in North Korea.

Why is North Korea taking more stringent measures against COVID-19 than when SARS and MERS were spreading?

It is already the party’s policy to publicize the greatness of the socialist homeland free from any plague.

North Korea has halted its alliance with China and isolated itself so as to redirect people`s complaints about hunger and hardships toward a disaster such as the spread of the deadly virus.

On the other hand, when there is a case of COVID-19 in North Korea, where no current prevention and treatment measures are established, prevention and treatment are serious problems.

In the world, North Korea means Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Pyongyang has always been the country’s most important city. This is where people, including reporters from all over the world, are allowed to come when they visit North Korea, mass gymnastics events are held in Pyongyang, and Mansudae statues are all in Pyongyang. It is fair to say that ‘If Pyongyang is okay, North Korea is alright.’

Therefore, as always, inspection and quarantine in Pyongyang are strengthened when an epidemic occurs, even during sporting competitions.

Pyongyang is considered equal in worth to the entire rest of the country, thus the party slogan: “Let’s defend the head of revolution with our lives” and “Pyongyang is the heart of North Korea.” It is very likely, therefore, that measures to prevent an epidemic will have been strengthened in Pyongyang.

What should the international community do to help prevent and treat communicable diseases in North Korea?

In South Korea, a reagent that can be used for diagnosis within an hour has been developed, and patients have been diagnosed quickly.

The quarantine project is concerned with the role of the government of the country, but the diagnostic examination and treatment of hospital patients are proportional to the technology of the country.

As you already know, in North Korea, no diagnostic reagent is available for identifying whether a death is caused by COVID-19 or pneumonia. There is no way to know.

Also, patients with confirmed or similar diseases need therapeutic drugs, including antibiotics, antipyretics, fluids, and vitamins. First of all, the patient needs nutrition and food, but it is impossible to provide food for all those who need it. Food-like assistance is likely to be misappropriated by the military, State Security Department, Ministry of People’s Security, and the Party, totally ignoring that medical supplies are intended only for patients who need them.

In addition, the international community should provide valuable knowledge and experience to North Korea concerning COVID-19’s characteristics, host, transmission route, incubation and activity period, treatment and prevention measures.

There are rumors that COVID-19 has already spread in North Korea, and that thousands of troops have been quarantined as some YouTube channels have claimed. However, the North Korean labor newspaper said there are no confirmed patients. The actual facts could be revealed if or when a true report is issued by the North Korean authorities, but this rarely happens. North Korean statistical information, including that provided by the labor newspaper, is not reliable.

If the North Korean government is really concerned about its people and wants to work on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, they must provide reports to the UN and the international community regarding the current status and establishment of countermeasures for North Korea. Support from the United Nations and the international community is also essential.