A few weeks after admitting the first coronavirus infection, North Korea appears to be blaming the outbreak of balloons sent by South Korean defector activists. is.
North Korean officials said they tracked the outbreak at an inter-Korean summit on Friday. There, an 18-year-old soldier and a 5-year-old child came into contact with "foreign things" in early April. ..
A statement issued to the state-owned Korean Central News Agency did not specify what the object was, but later alerted residents to balloons and other "aliens" in the area. I warned you.
North Korean officials have long said that the coronavirus could invade the country by novel means such as migratory birds, snow, air pollution, and anti-Pyongyang promotional leaflets sent by South Korean activists. I have warned you.
Earlier this week, South Korean-based North Korean defector Park Sogaku said he had launched 20 balloons with COVID-19 medical supplies such as masks, painkillers and vitamins.
North Korea is an authoritarian nation that blocks people from accessing external information and despises the launch of balloons. In the past, they were used as an opportunity to direct anger and pressure in South Korea.
Friday's statement did not turn anger at South Korea. However, some analysts said it could be part of an effort to keep North Koreans away from border areas.
On May 12, North Korea first admitted that it was dealing with the outbreak of COVID-19. Hospitalization has led to a global coronavirus pandemic for over two years.
Since then, North Korea has stated that the situation at COVID-19 has improved significantly, but outside experts have emphasized that even Pyongyang may not know the true extent of the outbreak. ing.
Instead of reporting confirmed cases of coronavirus, North Korea posted a daily number of "enthusiasts", probably because the country does not have enough COVID-19 testing supplies. ..
In total, North Korea reported 4.74 million cases of fever, but only 73 deaths. If fever cases are counted as confirmed COVID-19 cases, it means that North Korea has achieved the lowest COVID-19 case fatality rate in the world.
North Korea has an outdated and resource-poor medical system. It is believed that it has recently accepted several vaccines from China, but has rejected most international offers for pandemic aid.
In a statement Thursday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry condemned US and Western COVID-19 aid offers, calling them "clumsy teaser", and the pandemic situation in its country is rapidly changing. Claimed to be improving.
In an unusually candid statement last month, the World Health Organization said it assumed that the situation in North Korea's COVID-19 was "deteriorating, but not good."
