Six people have died and 350,000 have been treated for a fever that has spread “explosively” across North Korea, state media said yesterday, sparking new calls for the government to accept aid that could save lives, help protect its battered economy, and possibly lead to a diplomatic opening.
North Korea likely does not have sufficient COVID-19 tests and said it did not know the cause of the mass fevers.
A big outbreak of COVID-19 could be devastating in a country with a broken health care system and an unvaccinated, malnourished population.
Photo: AP
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that of the 350,000 people who developed fevers since late last month, 162,200 have recovered.
It added that 18,000 people were newly found with fever symptoms on Thursday, and 187,800 people are being isolated for treatment.
One of the six people who died was infected with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the agency said.
State TV showed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Kim wearing a mask as he entered what the broadcast described as the country’s headquarters of its pandemic response, which appeared to be Pyongyang’s landmark Koryo Hotel. He took off the mask and smoked a cigarette while talking with officials.
KCNA said that Kim criticized officials for failing to prevent “a vulnerable point in the epidemic prevention system.”
He said that the outbreak was centered around the capital, Pyongyang, and said that all work and residential units should be isolated from one another, while residents should be provided every convenience during a lockdown.
The spread of the virus might have been accelerated by a massive military parade on April 25, where Kim gave a speech and showcased his army and weaponry in front of tens of thousands of people.
The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said yesterday that it intends to help North Korea, including by providing vaccines, and that specific measures would be discussed with Pyongyang.
North Korea is not known to have imported or administered any COVID-19 vaccines, and is one of only two countries that have not begun a vaccination campaign.
“Unveiling the outbreak through KCNA, which is a primary channel for external communications, indicates that North Korea could seek vaccine support,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. “Isolation and control are not enough to overcome the crisis without vaccines.”
Others said that it remains unclear whether North Korea’s stance is softening, and that there are many hurdles with geopolitical implications.
Some analysts said that “vaccine diplomacy” with North Korea could ease tensions in other areas such as the country’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
“If inter-Korean cooperation does happen, it would help defuse military tension and reopen talks, and potentially lead to humanitarian exchanges such as a reunion of separated families,” said Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Sejong Institute’s North Korea studies center in South Korea.
The politicization of aid might also be a major reason why North Korea has been hesitant to accept.
Pyongyang might be more likely to reach out to its allies in Beijing first, Cheong said, although Pyongyang turned down an earlier offer of 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses of China’s Sinovac Biotech.
“If the situation gets more uncontrollable, it would be difficult to refuse Western support,” he said.
FEROCIOUS FISH-EATER Scientists have found a new species of dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period, a ‘hell heron’ that stalked the rivers, deep in the Saharan desert At a remote Sahara desert site in Niger, scientists have unearthed fossils of a new species of Spinosaurus, among the biggest of the meat-eating dinosaurs, notable for its large blade-shaped head crest and jaws bearing interlocking teeth for snaring fish. It prowled a forested inland environment and strode into rivers to catch sizable fish like a modern-day wading bird — a “hell heron,” as one of the researchers put it, considering it was about 12 meters long and weighed 5-7 tons. The dinosaur presented a striking profile on the Cretaceous Period landscape of Africa some 95 million years ago as it hunted
Heavy rain and strong winds yesterday disrupted flights, trains and ferries, forcing the closure of roads across large parts of New Zealand’s North Island, while snapping power links to tens of thousands. Domestic media reported a few flights had resumed operating by afternoon from the airport in Wellington, the capital, although cancelations were still widespread after airport authorities said most morning flights were disrupted. Air New Zealand said it hoped to resume services when conditions ease later yesterday, after it paused operations at Wellington, Napier and Palmerston North airports. Online images showed flooded semi-rural neighborhoods, inundated homes, trees fallen on vehicles and collapsed
‘COST OF DEFECTION’: Duterte’s announcement could be an effort to keep allies in line with the promise of a return to power amid political uncertainty, an analyst said Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday announced she would run for president of the Southeast Asian nation of 116 million in 2028. Duterte, who is embroiled in a bitter feud with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, was impeached last year only to see the country’s Supreme Court throw the case out over procedural issues. Her announcement comes just days before her father, former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, begins a pretrial hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands over crimes against humanity allegedly committed as part of a brutal crackdown on drugs. “I offer my life, my strength and my future
NOT YET THERE: While the show was impressive, it failed to demonstrate their ability to move in unstructured environments, such as a factory floor, an expert said Dancing humanoid robots on Monday took center stage during the annual China Media Group’s Spring Festival Gala, China’s most-watched official television broadcast. They lunged and backflipped (landing on their knees), they spun around and jumped. Not one fell over. The display was impressive, but if robots can now dance and perform martial arts, what else can they do? Experts have mixed opinions, with some saying the robots had limitations and that the display should be viewed through a lens of state propaganda. Developed by several Chinese robotics firms, the robots performed a range of intricate stunts, including martial arts, comedy sketches and choreographed
RSS