Coronavirus: North Korea Speculation -

[Richard Harrow]

They aren't as closed off from the world as people think.

Normally I would agree. However, they have severely restricted access outside of whatever quarters they use to house foreign diplomats and members of the press. It's supposed to be 30 days but circulating rumors suggest that the 30 days is actually for the length of "TBD." The question that I think a lot of people are asking is: Are they being PROactive or REactive? It's clear that they're responding to the virus, either its presence there or the prevention thereof. Normally foreigners/visitors get the premium Commie treatment of beautiful gardens and silhouettes of fake buildings. None of that is happening right now.

 

[simulated goat]

I found a couple of articles using economic data to look at what is happening in NK:

How COVID-19 Is Affecting North Korea’s Economy

If this crisis has proven anything it’s how much the North Korean economy relies on China.

thediplomat.com

https://archive.md/RDEWQ

North Korea’s Exports to China Collapse Amid Coronavirus

Chinese data from January and February hints that the border closure is taking a serious economic toll.

thediplomat.com

https://archive.md/lylJv

 

[heathercho]

Well,
It will be interesting to see if KJU "lives" after his brush with "surgery" issues...

 

[Richard Harrow]

Defectors Cast Doubt on North Korea’s Claim It Has Zero Coronavirus Cases

Outsiders strongly suspect that coronavirus has already spread to North Korea

time.com

"It’s a lie,” Choi (a former N. Korean doctor and defector), 45, said. “Year after year, and in every season, diverse infectious diseases repeatedly occur but North Korea says there isn’t any outbreak.” If what he is saying is true, then there is no reason to believe that Corona-chan hasn't kissed N. Korea already. With the country's close ties to China through diplomatic channels and a once-thriving smuggling industry, it certainly seems far-fetched that N. Koreans have somehow dodged every pandemic in the past 50-60 years. However, this claim doesn't necessarily illuminate N. Korea's efficacy in combating the virus; they may or may not be doing a good job as we simply can't properly vet the information.

It will be interesting to see if KJU "lives" after his brush with "surgery" issues...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-21/kim-surgery-report-fuels-speculation-about-north-korean-leader

"Speculation about Kim had been growing since his unprecendented absence from April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung, one of the biggest days on the North Korean calender."
Now we know the reason for his absence at the very least. He is known to be a heavy smoker and likely is combating the effects of type 2 diabetes due to his weight. Both are not a good combination in addition to increasing his susceptibility to COVID-19, clearly placing him into a high-risk group.

 

[heathercho]

Defectors Cast Doubt on North Korea’s Claim It Has Zero Coronavirus Cases

Outsiders strongly suspect that coronavirus has already spread to North Korea

time.com

"It’s a lie,” Choi (a former N. Korean doctor and defector), 45, said. “Year after year, and in every season, diverse infectious diseases repeatedly occur but North Korea says there isn’t any outbreak.” If what he is saying is true, then there is no reason to believe that Corona-chan hasn't kissed N. Korea already. With the country's close ties to China through diplomatic channels and a once-thriving smuggling industry, it certainly seems far-fetched that N. Koreans have somehow dodged every pandemic in the past 50-60 years. However, this claim doesn't necessarily illuminate N. Korea's efficacy in combating the virus; they may or may not be doing a good job as we simply can't properly vet the information.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-21/kim-surgery-report-fuels-speculation-about-north-korean-leader

"Speculation about Kim had been growing since his unprecendented absence from April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung, one of the biggest days on the North Korean calender."
Now we know the reason for his absence at the very least. He is known to be a heavy smoker and likely is combating the effects of type 2 diabetes due to his weight. Both are not a good combination in addition to increasing his susceptibility to COVID-19, clearly placing him into a high-risk group.

It's unlikely there was any surgery or coof. If he is dead, it's purely down to politics. He's been on thin ice for a while. He wasn't capitulating to China as much as was desired.

 

[Richard Harrow]

It's unlikely there was any surgery or coof. If he is dead, it's purely down to politics. He's been on thin ice for a while. He wasn't capitulating to China as much as was desired.

So are you thinking assassination and a cover-up?

 

[heathercho]

Yeah, now is the perfect time, China is heating up its warfare in Asia atm.

Jong un's been on the outs for ages. They just couldn't get rid of him. Word was that he had been removed from all duties except ceremonial ones, in mid 2019 at least.

 

[Plaguemine]

North Korea has 0 infections.

I mean....they have been acting like they had corona for almost 100years with their closed boarders.
Other than pre approved visitors, it's hard to get infected when no one is let in, unchecked

Also I'm sure that anyone that gets sick is just put in hole right away. Sick people are a drain on limited resources, haha!

 

[bot_for_hire]

North Korean Covid patients 'are being left to starve to death in quarantine camps'​

• Activist Tim Peters claims coronavirus 'quarantine camps' have been set up
• Pastor David Lee alleges Covid patients are 'being boarded up in their homes'
• Reports claim North Korean authorities have incinerated bodies of Covid victims

Covid patients in North Korea are being placed in 'quarantine camps' and left to starve to death, an activist has claimed.

Further reports suggest people with symptoms of the virus are 'being boarded up in their homes without food' and that the authorities have incinerated scores of the bodies of Covid victims.

Tim Peters, a Christian activist who runs Seoul-based charity Helping Hands Korea, said sources in North Korea claim coronavirus 'quarantine camps' have been set up in cities near the Chinese border.

But those incarcerated in the camps are often left without medical care and starvation is rife, he said.

He told The South China Morning Post: 'One of the more alarming pieces of information that has come our way is that the DPRK government is providing absolutely minimal or no food or medicine to those who are interred there.

'It's up to the families of the quarantined citizens to come to the edge of the camps and bring food to keep quarantined relatives alive along with whatever health-related aids that they can muster, whether it be purchased medicines sold in the jangmadang markets, or even herbal home remedies gathered from mountainsides.

'My sources indicate many in these camps have already died, not only from the pandemic but also from starvation and related causes.'

Peters, whose NGO delivers medical and other supplies to North Korea, described the Covid situation in the country as 'gravely serious'.

He said the reported neglect matched information emerging from survivors of North Korea's prison camps where inmates are provided with 'an absolutely minimum amount of food'.

Refugees who have fled North Korea but kept in contact with relatives still in the country have reported cases of people with symptoms 'being forced into isolation, or being boarded up in their homes without food or other support and left to die', according to pastor David Lee.

Lee, who works with North Korean defectors in Seoul, said coronavirus is called the 'ghost disease' by North Koreans and there are no 'proper testing kits' to track or stop the spread of the virus.

Another South Korea-based human rights activist, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The South China Morning Post that authorities had incinerated scores of bodies.

It comes after a suspected case of coronavirus involving a cross-border trader.

The activist said: 'The central inspection authorities came from Pyongyang and burned all the bodies. The residents are very anxious.'

The shocking claims come as the Kim Jung Un said the country was 'coronavirus free' during a speech at a military parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Democratic Workers' Party of Korea.

The North Korean leader blamed international sanctions, typhoons, and the coronavirus for preventing him from delivering on promises of economic progress.

He said he was grateful that not a single North Korean had tested positive for the disease, an assertion that South Korea and the United States have previously questioned.

 

[Richard Harrow]

North Korean Covid patients 'are being left to starve to death in quarantine camps'​

Thanks for the update. Thought this thread would die due to a lack of info.

 

[bot_for_hire]

Wonsan university on lockdown after students put under quarantine​

North Korean authorities have recently diagnosed university students at a school in Gangwon Province displaying symptoms similar to COVID-19, such as high fevers and respiratory distress, with “acute pneumonia,” Daily NK has learned.

According to a Daily NK source in North Korea last Thursday, students living in a dormitory of Wonsan University of Fisheries in Wonsan, Gangwon Province, were put into isolation in the middle of last month after they began suffering from high fevers.

The next day, local health officials were sent to the university to collect samples from the students. When several students simultaneously began showing symptoms of COVID-19, the authorities completely shut down the entire school, according to the source.

National health officials sent to the area several days later said test results confirmed the students were suffering from “acute pneumonia” – not COVID-19 – and that this was “not an outbreak of the coronavirus.”

The officials warned people against spreading rumors related to COVID-19 and, moreover, ordered everyone to remain silent about what recently happened at the university.

With the authorities moving to stop the “spread of rumors,” local residents are saying they “cannot trust the test results.” “People are asking how a group outbreak of ‘acute pneumonia’ could suddenly happen, and saying it must be COVID-19,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Some people were even complaining, asking why in the world they are diagnosing the coronavirus as acute pneumonia,” he continued, adding, “They say that, clearly, a growing number of people are being isolated and there are people dying with symptoms like high fever and respiratory distress, but [the authorities] just keep repeating that there’s no COVID-19 in the country. They say there’s no reason to trust them.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s weekly report on COVID-19, the number of people being tested for COVID-19 continues to rise in North Korea, but the country has yet to report a single confirmed case.

A source in Pyongyang told Daily NK, however, that “even if WHO officials come to Pyongyang, they can’t get involved in the COVID-19 testing process to confirm the situation.”

According to him, WHO officials “just receive notification of the results reported by the authorities.” This means that the North Korean authorities could intentionally leave out or falsely report the results of COVID-19 tests, or the number of individuals put under isolation.

In fact, the WHO said a total of 32,011 people in North Korea had been put into isolation with symptoms suspected of being COVID-19 through Oct. 22. Daily NK has learned, however, that, on the basis of figures calculated by North Korean authorities, an accumulated total of more than 80,000 civilians have been put into isolation as of Nov. 1.

“Even while health authorities claim it isn’t COVID-19, they continue to keep Wonsan University of Fisheries under lockdown,” the first source said, adding, “Despite this, there’s been no explanation [by the authorities about the lockdown] at all.”

 

[bot_for_hire]

Military quarantine facilities suffering from shortages of beds, medical supplies​

Quarantined military personnel receive three meals a day, but all they receive on weekdays is rice mixed with corn, salt broth and cured radish

As the number of sick or quarantined soldiers due to COVID-19 rises in the North Korean military, military quarantine facilities are also reportedly suffering from serious shortages of beds and medical supplies. In particular, seriously ill patients who have little chance of survival are being locked away and neglected with little treatment.

According to a Daily NK source in the North Korean military on Monday, military authorities have established quarantine facilities in temporary buildings next to military hospitals so that medical teams can handle soldiers displaying symptoms related to COVID-19. However, as the number of quarantined soldiers has sharply risen, medical teams cannot treat them due to shortages of not only food, but also water, beds and medical supplies.

According to Daily NK’s own reporting, the cumulative number of military personnel at military quarantine facilities as of the end of November was 54,620, including 43,000 soldiers, 6,200 seamen and 5,420 airmen.

Quarantined military personnel receive three meals a day, but all they receive on weekdays is rice mixed with corn, salt broth and cured radish. Moreover, many of the quarantined complain of hunger as the daily amount of rice provided is just 630 grams. On Saturday and Sunday, some facilities serve noodles, but very rarely are protein-rich foods such as meat or eggs included.

There were sufficient beds as recently as the beginning of this year, when military authorities set up their quarantine facilities, but now many soldiers sleep on blanks spread out on the floor due to the shortage of beds. There have even been recent cases of soldiers dying of hypothermia in the facilities.

Additionally, with ventilation banned to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, transmission of other infectious diseases such as skin ailments is reportedly serious. “Patients are unable to frequently wash their clothes, nor are they provided underwear, so many are suffering from scabies,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Lice and nits are serious issues.”

Soldiers can take baths once a week given there are bathtubs in each room; however, the environment of these facilities exposes all the quarantined individuals to infectious diseases.

Above all, the most serious problem is apparently the lack of medical equipment and medicines. The number of quarantined soldiers is skyrocketing; however, due to the lack of medical supplies, medical teams can neither properly diagnose them nor can they do anything for serious cases hovering between life and death.

“If [doctors] judge that the patient has no chance, they just leave them in isolation without treating them, so naturally the number of deaths is rising,” the source said.

Daily NK found, based on reports from sources, that a total of about 4,180 soldiers have died in military quarantine facilities as of November.

The country’s military authorities not only keep families of quarantined soldiers ill-informed as to where they are being isolated, but also strictly ban quarantined soldiers from making phone calls or sending letters. So if a soldier or officer dies in quarantine, families receive only a letter of condolence.

In accordance with military law, military authorities process the bodies of those who die in the line of duty, so families are unable to receive the remains of their loved ones.

“As recently as this summer, if a soldier died in a quarantine facility, the body was decontaminated, cremated and handed over to his unit to be buried on a nearby mountain. Now, however, the bodies are being cremated en masse,” said the source. “Because there are too many deaths [these days], starting in September the authorities aren’t even bothering with firing a salute, which is the custom for those killed in action.”

 

[bot_for_hire]

North Korea Halts All Public Transportation Outside of Pyongyang to Stop Coronavirus​

North Korea has suspended all public transportation nationwide except for in the capital Pyongyang, the latest measure by the self-proclaimed “virus-free” nation to stop the spread of coronavirus within its borders, sources in the country told RFA.

Despite the government having banned travel between provinces earlier in the year, many residents were still able to move across the country on public transportation.

“From the beginning of this month, all public transport networks linking the whole country were stopped under the direction of the Central Committee [of the Korean Workers’ Party.] Trains, buses, and private couriers were banned as part of measures to stop the coronavirus,” a resident of North Hamgyong province in the country’s northeast told RFA’s Korean Service Nov. 8.

“Earlier this month, the Central Committee ordered residents of the city of Chongjin to stop using the roads. The authorities, which had been limiting the movement of residents to other areas of the country, are now blocking public transportation because of the virus,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

The measures suggest that the country has a spreading virus problem, but North Korea to date has not confirmed a single case of COVID-19.

Pyongyang claimed to be completely virus free to foreign media in April, the same month it warned people in public lectures that the virus was spreading in three geographically distant parts of the country.

Extensive measures to prevent public transmission of COVID-19 have included cancelling major cultural events, temporarily locking down entire cities and counties, and delaying and then cancelling planned school openings.

The government then fired its senior health officials that month for their failure to effectively lead the country’s quarantine effort, and increased preventative measures nationwide.

On the Oct. 10 75th anniversary of the 1945 Korean Workers’ Party, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un is said to have been overcome by emotion, thanking the people in a speech for their success in preserving North Korea’s virus-free status.

But by late October, the WHO reported several thousand “suspected cases” in North Korea, but none has been confirmed.

News of the virus spiking in November has spread among the people, and the government is now trying to “flatten the curve” by stopping public transit.

“Residents were still using trains at Chongnyon station in Chongjin until earlier this month. Now that the order to suspend public transit, travelers and merchants have all but disappeared from the station square. In addition to the trains, the intercity buses and private couriers from Chongjin to other provincial areas are also suspended, so there’s no way to get out of Chongjin to anywhere else.” the North Hamgyong resident said.

“Yesterday afternoon, I went to the intercity bus station in the Sunam district of Chongjin and all bus routes to the whole country stopped running, so there were no people, and the buses were just packed in the parking lot,” the source said.

The source said that even local bus routes that carry passengers around Chongjin have also closed down.

Another source, a resident of Sinuiju, across the border from the Chinese city of Dandong, confirmed that the public transit ban was in effect there as well.

“Although measures have been in place to prevent residents from moving around for a long time, public transportation was still running. So they issued this order to stop all movement,” said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.

“Since the beginning of this month, the Sinuiju Automobile Transport Center, the Provincial Long-Distance Transportation Unit, and the Sinuiju Passenger Transportation Center have all been shut down. The bus stop in the station square, which was always crowded with people, is now completely empty,” the second source said.

Residents of the city of 360,000 know the travel ban – formally known as the “Suspension of Public Transportation in Order to Fundamentally Prevent the Movement of Residents” -- is “all related to the coronavirus quarantine,” the second source said.

“The virus has started spreading again since November. The Central Committee saw that people were still using public transit, and so proposed this special measure,” said the Sinuiju source.

Meanwhile in the capital Pyongyang, public transit within the city is still operational, a resident who declined to be named told RFA.

“All means of transportation that link Pyongyang to provincial cities, including trains and buses have been banned. The roads to and from Pyongyang are strictly monitored by the police and military, so no people or objects can enter or leave Pyongyang, but the metro and local buses are still running here,” the third source said.

An official from the South Korea-based Korean Transport Institute said that since the coronavirus outbreak, no unusual developments related to the operation of North Korean public transportation have been identified.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

North Korea Halts All Public Transportation Outside of Pyongyang to Stop Coronavirus​

Let's wait and see if it'll be too little too late but knowing how North Korea release their informations...

 

[bot_for_hire]

N. Hamgyong Province intensifies efforts to prevent rice from being taken out of rural towns​

“On fields that have been picked through two or three times and even snow-covered fields, poverty-stricken locals are digging in the soil as if they are looking for gold," a source told Daily NK

After learning that urban dwellers were going to rural towns at night to obtain rice, North Korean authorities in North Hamgyong Province have ordered local officials to intensify their monitoring of nighttime vehicular traffic, Daily NK has learned.

A source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that while the government has long implemented and enforced bans on road-based travel to combat the spread of COVID-19, the authorities ordered stronger controls on movement on Dec. 20 in response to urban dwellers “going to nearby agricultural villages under the cover of night to obtain rice.”

In fact, though business people have long been sneaking around in their vehicles at night to obtain rice, party and government organs – well aware of North Korea’s terrible food situation – have turned a blind eye to these activities. Members of the Ministry of State Security and Ministry of Social Security have also refrained from aggressively cracking down on these “rice runs.”

“With people unable to earn a living, the homeless are growing and poor people are unable to leave their homes and are starving to death,” said the source. “Officials from the party and government organs, Ministry of State Security and Ministry of Social Security – seeing the state the locals are in – have been quietly turning a blind eye as part of efforts to resolve the food supply problem.”

The country’s military leadership, which has been unable to acquire enough rice to feed its soldiers, had received a report that vehicles laden with rice were moving around agricultural villages. The military then reported the situation to the Central Committee.

“The government [then] issued an order to intensify controls over the movement of vehicles in North Hamgyong Province and other regions,” the source said. “Vehicles that used to sneak into farm villages have now vanished.”

North Korean authorities have justified the new crackdown by pointing to COVID-19; however, the source told Daily NK that their real aim is to prevent rice from disappearing into the local community given that the military is unable to completely satisfy its food requirements.

“Facing an extremely difficult situation, locals are reacting to the ban by asking if they are now supposed to sit around and starve to death. It’s a miserable state of affairs now, with people going around in the bitter cold to unplowed fields, collecting the leftover grain,” said the source. “On fields that have been picked through two or three times and even snow-covered fields, poverty-stricken locals are digging in the soil as if they are looking for gold.”