[UPI] North Korea reports 270,000 new ‘fever’ cases related to COVID-19 outbreak

LINK: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2022/05/17/COVID-19-omicron-outbreak-Kim-Jong-Un/6381652780077/

Pyongyang has been unusually candid in its media coverage of the outbreak, which may be intended to invite international aid, said Ahn Kyung-su of DPRKHealth.org, a Seoul-based network and website which monitors public health information from the North.

“I think North Korea wants to receive support for COVID pills such as Paxlovid, rather than vaccines from international organizations including the United States,” Ahn told UPI. “This is because drugs are much simpler in terms of transportation, distribution and management than vaccines.”

“Even if vaccines are imported from outside, it seems very late considering the transportation and distribution process, the time required for medical personnel training, and the time it takes for vaccines to be effective after inoculation,” he added.

[AP] What’s behind North Korea’s COVID-19 admission?

LINK: https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-seoul-south-korea-north-8d68bcdc4ee1669185ffb8fa2f4c2460

North Korea’s secretive nature makes it virtually impossible to figure out the true scale of its outbreak and how it will develop.

Many North Koreans have adjusted to living with a troubled medical system and buying medicine privately, according to Ahn Kyung-su, head of DPRKHEALTH.ORG, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea.

While North Korea cannot avoid mass infections, Ahn said it will likely avoid “a catastrophic” death toll like the hundreds of thousands of deaths reported during a mid-1990s famine.

Ahn said the toughened anti-virus steps won’t be much different from previous curbs and that it’s mostly rhetoric meant to press a public tired of long-running pandemic restrictions to keep their vigilance amid surging cases in neighboring China.

북한의 코로나 공식 발표 의도와 대북 지원 예측

LINK: https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/nk_nuclear_talks-05122022205416.html

북한 보건의료 전문가인 안경수 통일의료연구센터(DPRKHEALTH.ORG) 센터장은 12일 자유아시아방송(RFA)에, 특히 최근 북한 매체의 관련 보도는 “결국 주민들한테 보여주기 위한 것”이라며 내부 결속 등 주민 사회 분위기 통제를 염두에 둔 측면이 더 커 보인다고 말했습니다.

또 안 센터장은 북한 당국이 실제 외부로부터 코로나19 지원을 원하고 있다면, 주사기로 투여되는 일반 코로나19 백신보다 ‘먹는 치료제’를 더 선호할 것으로 관측했습니다.

다만 특히 ‘먹는 치료제’의 경우 한국도 실제로 보유한 수량이 많지 않고, 남북관계의 현주소를 고려할 때 북한은 한국의 지원은 원하지 않을 것이라고 내다봤습니다.

[TIME] COVID-19 Finally Slipped Through North Korea’s Borders. Here’s What to Know About the ‘Explosive’ Outbreak

LINK: https://time.com/6176459/covid-19-north-korea-outbreak

North Korea’s two-year border closure has battered its economy, on top of the U.S.-led sanctions over the nuclear-armed country’s ballistic missile tests.

But the hermit state may be welcoming more outside help now. Ahn Kyung-su of Seoul-based research center dprkhealth.org said North Korea’s announcement signals its need for international support and that it needs COVID-19 medication more than vaccines. “This is because drugs are much simpler in terms of transportation, distribution and management personnel than vaccines.”