Posted on May 26, 2022
Newshour - Covid-19 in North Korea: All they say is that 'our country is the best' - BBC Sounds
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North Korea has just announced that its number of coronavirus infections has passed two million, one week after the first case was reported, and yet state media also said the country was achieving good results in what it called its 'anti-pandemic war'.
Jihyun Park is a human rights activist who fled North Korea and now lives in the UK [for clarity, her answers have been voiced over]. She says that it's not possible for people in the country to know the true state of the pandemic, as they are "brainwashed and controlled".
Jihyun Park is a human rights activist who fled North Korea and now lives in the UK [for clarity, her answers have been voiced over]. She says that it's not possible for people in the country to know the true state of the pandemic, as they are "brainwashed and controlled".
Newshour - Covid-19 in North Korea: All they say is that 'our country is the best' - BBC Sounds
Posted from bbc.co.uk
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Why North Korea keeps saying ‘no’ to vaccines
In recent days, state media have also cast doubts on foreign-made vaccines.
A Rodong Sinmun article opined this week that, while foreign pharmaceutical companies try to produce new jabs to beat new COVID-19 variants, “it is becoming doubtful they will be useful on a global scale.”
Such reports may suggest that Pyongyang’s resistance to accepting donated foreign shots may be stiffening. North Korea may not want to be seen as relying on outside help — or may be trying to justify their decision not to take donations by casting doubts on the vaccines’ effectiveness.
Before the outbreak, North Korea rejected millions of vaccines offered by COVAX, and since the outbreak, South Korea and China have offered vaccines and aid, but not received a response.
But there is the possibility that North Korea is willing to accept aid secretly from China. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports that two trains with 30 cars each passed over the border from China into North Korea Thursday night, filled with medical supplies. Reuters now reports that North Korea imported millions of face masks, 1,000 ventilators and possibly vaccines ahead of the current outbreak, according to Chinese customs data.
Hanyang University’s Shin Young-jeon argues that both North Korea and donors need to put aside their concerns. Donors are often concerned about donations being diverted to the military, while North Korea resents efforts to monitor the distribution of the donations inside their country.
“I think North Korea has the primary responsibility to accept offers of vaccines,” he says, “but now is the time for the donating side to not attach any conditions.”
Another part of the problem may be one of poor cultural communication. Shin says that donors must not expect or wait for pleas for assistance that North Koreans are too proud to make.
Then again, there is the possibility that North Korea is willing to accept aid secretly from China. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports that two trains with 30 cars each passed over the border from China into North Korea Thursday night, filled with medical supplies. Reuters now reports that North Korea imported millions of face masks, 1,000 ventilators and possibly vaccines ahead of the current outbreak, according to Chinese customs data.
“They’ve never told me, ‘we lack such and such, so please help,'” Shin says. “We need to understand the different language they use.”
Shin offers an example of this language, from a North Korean contact.
“A longtime acquaintance once told me: ‘Nothing is in short supply. But we need everything.’ “
..."Why North Korea keeps saying ‘no’ to vaccines
In recent days, state media have also cast doubts on foreign-made vaccines.
A Rodong Sinmun article opined this week that, while foreign pharmaceutical companies try to produce new jabs to beat new COVID-19 variants, “it is becoming doubtful they will be useful on a global scale.”
Such reports may suggest that Pyongyang’s resistance to accepting donated foreign shots may be stiffening. North Korea may not want to be seen as relying on outside help — or may be trying to justify their decision not to take donations by casting doubts on the vaccines’ effectiveness.
Before the outbreak, North Korea rejected millions of vaccines offered by COVAX, and since the outbreak, South Korea and China have offered vaccines and aid, but not received a response.
But there is the possibility that North Korea is willing to accept aid secretly from China. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports that two trains with 30 cars each passed over the border from China into North Korea Thursday night, filled with medical supplies. Reuters now reports that North Korea imported millions of face masks, 1,000 ventilators and possibly vaccines ahead of the current outbreak, according to Chinese customs data.
Hanyang University’s Shin Young-jeon argues that both North Korea and donors need to put aside their concerns. Donors are often concerned about donations being diverted to the military, while North Korea resents efforts to monitor the distribution of the donations inside their country.
“I think North Korea has the primary responsibility to accept offers of vaccines,” he says, “but now is the time for the donating side to not attach any conditions.”
Another part of the problem may be one of poor cultural communication. Shin says that donors must not expect or wait for pleas for assistance that North Koreans are too proud to make.
Then again, there is the possibility that North Korea is willing to accept aid secretly from China. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports that two trains with 30 cars each passed over the border from China into North Korea Thursday night, filled with medical supplies. Reuters now reports that North Korea imported millions of face masks, 1,000 ventilators and possibly vaccines ahead of the current outbreak, according to Chinese customs data.
“They’ve never told me, ‘we lack such and such, so please help,'” Shin says. “We need to understand the different language they use.”
Shin offers an example of this language, from a North Korean contact.
“A longtime acquaintance once told me: ‘Nothing is in short supply. But we need everything.’ “
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