With North Korea bordered by South Korea and China, its leader Kim Jong Un claims there are zero coronavirus cases in his area. But it seems that a secret epidemic is happening, all put together by diplomats and experts connecting the evidence.
Isolating North Korea by shutting borders to stop the coronavirus lessened legal trade and tourism. Still, it is possible that there are cases as the U.S. is notice reduced military activity. This was the observation by General Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Forces Korea who was interviewed via teleconference last Friday.
Abrams added that North Korean forces are on lockdown for a month, and just recently resumed activity on March 13. The general said that no flights were detected for 24 days.
The country has a poor medical system with sanctions against trade, and bed economics that has left more than 40% of its people malnourished and sickly. North Korea can become a hard-hit area if a coronavirus outbreak takes hold. It will have a mass number of deaths and feed the virus as fewer cases are occurring in Asia.
Such concerns are now causing aid organizations and North Korean Allies like Russia, to send in medical help and others are willing to help.
Chances of the virus crossing the well-armed border with South Korea, one problem is the border with China, the source can be black market traders who bring the virus into North Korea. Cases of the coronavirus in lioaning and Jilin, with only 225 cases last week, said the World Health Organization.
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North Korea is secretive and its official media reiterates that it has kept the virus from coming inside the country by mass disinfection and thousands in quarantine. To date, 5,400 have been released and no cases were reported yet. One doctor in South Korea who heads the Association of Healthcare for Korean Unification, think the denials are a symptom of a larger problem.
Kim Sin-gon, a professor at Korea University's Department of Internal Medicine in Seoul, said,"Since the tone of the reporting is so strong, North Korea probably does have its patients of the virus," adding that malnutrition can increase cases of COVID-19.
North Korea has shown that it can deal with the viral spread, the World Health Organization in 2018 lauded its elimination of measles. Should the coronavirus come into North Korea, the leader can use his powers to keep what is happening in North Korea a secret epidemic. Deaths from the virus are nothing much when they survived famine in the 1990s killing 240,000 to 3.5 million.
According to Thomas Byrne of the Korea Society, no human right or social freedom, no concern for starvation, and real enforcement of social distancing.
Pyongyang accepts aid from abroad when in need, contextualizing it as a tribute not as charity.
Russia has delivered test kits to Pyongyang, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have called for sanctions exemption to send money to its North Korean office, even South Korea is willing to aid.
WHO officials are planning in sending equipment and supplies to North Korea too. Even the U.S. State Department is willing to help if there is a secret epidemic in North Korea.
