Tuesday, March 10, 2020

COVID-19 in North Korea : 180 soldiers killed, 3,700 isolated

Reporter :Luo Ting Ting
Editor : Wen Hui
Publisher : New Tang Dynasty Television
Ref : https://www.ntdtv.com/b5/2020/03/10/a102796288.html
Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan
                                 / KUCINTA SETIA

Image : North Korean soldiers. By KIM WON JIN / AFP via Getty Images


COVID-19 (covid, in short) epidemic is spreading all over the world, but North Korea, which borders mainland China, insists on zero confirmed diagnosis. However, South Korean media run by defectors from North Korea disclosed that a North Korean military personnel has divulged that the North Korean army has an outbreak recently. At least 180 soldiers have died due to the epidemic and 3,700 soldiers have been isolated.

According to the Korean online media Daily NK run by the defectors, on 6 March 2020, inside the Korean People's Army, high-level military officials ordered hospitals of various services to investigate pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma or colds. The number of soldiers who died of fever, and the number currently being quarantined are high.

North Korean military medical personnel recently completed a report. They are stationed at the border between China and North Korea, and 180 soldiers suspected of contracting covid have died along Cijiang Road, Liangjiang Road, and North Hamgyong Province. In addition, 3,700 soldiers are being quarantined.

Military sources revealed that there are so many dead bodies at once in the North Korean military exploded but they tried to conceal the situation as much as possible. They did not choose to conduct cremation at military hospitals but the military requires hospitals to use methanol for disinfection and to closely watch weaker soldiers.

In addition, the North Korean military is closely monitoring soldiers with weak immune systems or past health problems, as well as disinfecting the "quarantine area" where symptomatic soldiers receive treatment.

The report said that North Korean military officials warned that officers must be held responsible for deaths in the unit and will punish those who fail to comply with relevant epidemic prevention measures.

Following the outbreak of covid in mainland China, North Korea announced the closure at the earliest, blocking the border on 30 January, and demanded that anyone who had been to China before or had contacts with Chinese people be unconditionally isolated for 14 days. All foreign tourists are prohibited from entering.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) previously quoted news that in early February, a North Korean trade official violated the quarantine order after returning to the country, went to a public bathhouse, and was arrested and executed immediately after being informed. Another National Security Bureau official was decentralized to a farm to reform because he wanted to hide the fact that he had been to China.

In addition, according to Korean media reports, on 18 February 2020, the first confirmed covid case occurred in Shiniju, a North Korean city bordering Heilongjiang Province, China. The North Korean authorities immediately ordered Shiniju to be “closed,” and the confirmed patient had been shot dead.

After North Korea closed its borders, hundreds of foreigners and diplomats in North Korea were also blocked in their premises. The ban was not lifted until last week and more than 200 foreigners were allowed to leave the premises.

On 9 March 2020, the embassies of various countries in North Korea were temporarily closed, and several diplomats also took the opportunity to evacuate from Pyongyang and transit in Vladivostok for their onward journeys to their respective countries.

StayGate's Notes:
Based on the North Korean accounts, the first city in the world to implement closure measure is Shiniju, not Wuhan. The first country to close its borders is North Korea, not Italy and Mongolia.

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Pictures copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA