Kim Jong-un mobilizes army after criticizing North Korea’s response to Covid outbreak

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North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has harshly criticized the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and has mobilized the army to distribute medicines, state media said on Monday, after revealing that 50 people died in the first local outbreak of Covid-19.

In addition to the deaths, more than a million people suffered from what Pyongyang calls “fever”, even with the confinements imposed to stop the spread of the virus in the population, which was not vaccinated.

In a sign of the gravity of the situation, Kim “vehemently criticized” health officials over what was seen as an ineffective response to the health crisis. The country’s leader then ordered the military commission to act “to stabilize the supply of medicine in Pyongyang involving the powerful forces of the medical branch of the People’s Army”, according to the official KCNA news agency.

Kim also allegedly claimed that “his orders were not properly followed and medicines were not provided to pharmacies”, which, in turn, did not comply with the order to operate 24 hours a day.

North Korea has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world, with poorly equipped hospitals and few intensive care units. There are also no drugs to treat Covid and no capacity for large-scale testing. According to state media, 50 people have died, 1.2 million have suffered from “fever” and at least 564,000 are under medical treatment. The country has maintained a strict coronavirus lockdown since the beginning of the pandemic, although experts say that with the presence of the omicron variant in the region, it would be a matter of time before the virus spreads across the country.

For Yang Moo-jin, professor of North Korean Studies at Seoul University, Kim’s public criticism is a sign of how dire the situation is. North Korea will likely need international help to overcome the wave of the omicron, and, according to the academic, the country should look to China at first and perhaps the United States or South Korea if the situation worsens.

Pyongyang rejected offers of vaccines produced in China a few months ago, and Kim has already declared that the country will “actively learn” from Beijing’s strategy for the pandemic, known as “Covid zero”.

On Monday, the newly sworn-in president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, said he was willing to provide the necessary help to the neighboring country. “If the North Korean authorities accept, we will not spare needed help, such as medicines – including Covid vaccines – medical supplies and health professionals,” he told the South Korean National Assembly.

Pyongyang did not respond to an official communication from Seoul detailing the offer of aid, according to the Unification Ministry. Whether or not to accept aid may depend more on Kim’s nuclear test plans than the medical situation, said Cheong Seong-jang, a researcher at the Sejong Institute.

Despite the health crisis, new satellite images show North Korea has resumed construction of a dormant nuclear reactor, and the US and South Korea have warned that the Asian country’s dictatorship is preparing the seventh nuclear test in the latest series. of trials.

US President Joe Biden will visit Seoul over the weekend. Pyongyang’s weapons program and the Covid outbreak should, of course, dominate the agenda.

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