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SEOUL — North Korea on Friday, the country's first COVID- The 19 outbreaks claim to have started with patients who touched "aliens" near the border with South Korea, apparently blaming their neighbors for a wave of infections in an isolated country.
In announcing the results of the survey, North Korea warned people "attention to the foreign things brought about by wind and other climatic phenomena and balloons in the borders and areas along the border. I ordered to deal with it. " The official KCNA news agency said.
Authorities did not mention South Korea directly, but North Korean defectors and activists flew balloons from the south across highly fortified borders for decades, with leaflets. Brought humanitarian aid.
The South Korean Ministry of Unification, which deals with the Global North and Global South, said the virus "is unlikely" to invade the north through leaflets sent across borders.
According to KCNA, 18-year-old soldiers and 5-year-old kindergarten children who came into contact with unidentified materials "on the hills around barracks and residential areas" in the eastern county of Mt. Kongo in early April were symptomatic. Was later tested positive for coronavirus.
KCNA stated that all other cases of fever reported in the country by mid-April were due to other illnesses, but did not elaborate. ..
"Since it is very unlikely that the virus will spread through objects, scientifically speaking, it is difficult to believe North Korea's claim," said Yang of the North Korean Research University in Seoul.・ Professor Mujin said. ..
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of people being infected with COVID by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects is possible, but generally considered low.
North Korea also said that the first two patients touched an unspecified object in an eastern town in early April, but for the first time this year a group of North Korean defectors crossed the border into a balloon. Was known to have been sent since late April. West Kanaura region.
The first COVID outbreak was recognized by North Korea in the border blockade that took effect from the beginning of 2020 to resume freight train operations with China. It was a few months after the relaxation.
However, it would have been difficult for Pyongyang to point its finger at China, said Professor Lim Ulchul of the Far East Institute of Gyeongnam University.
"If they concluded that the virus was from China, they would have had to strengthen quarantine measures in the border area to further reduce trade between North Korea and China. "Mr. Lim said.
North Korea claims that the wave of COVID is showing signs of calming, but experts suspect underreporting of numbers released through government-controlled media.
North Korea reported more than 4,570 fever symptoms on Friday, with a total of 4.74 million fever cases recorded since late April.
Pyongyang has published a daily number of fever patients without identifying whether they were infected with COVID, apparently due to a lack of test kits.
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