Full Link: https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/news_indepth/ne-jn-08052020092912.html

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한국 통일의료연구센터(dprkhealth.org)의 안경수 센터장은 (7월 30일) 공식 매체가 ‘코로나 19’에 대한 방역 대책을 거듭 강조하는 점에서 그만큼 북한 상황이 좋지 않다는 것을 추정해볼 수 있다고 진단했습니다.

[안경수 센터장] 북한의 공식 매체가 매우 강조하거나 그 빈도가 높으면 그만큼 북한 내부에서는 그것이 잘 안 되고 있다는 방증이라고 보는 것이 정석입니다. 그런 측면에서 볼 때 북한 최고지도부의 회의, 정치국 회의 등에서 공개적으로 ‘코로나 19’의 방역 대책을 이야기한다면 이는 결국, 일반 주민들을 대상으로 하는 말인데, 그런 언급이 자주 나온다는 것은 ‘북한 상황이 매우 좋지 않구나’, ‘코로나 19’가 없어서 평온한 상태는 아니구나’라고 추측할 수 있습니다.

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또 북한이 ‘코로나 19’를 관리하는 모습을 대내외에 과시했지만, 최고지도부와 평양을 중심으로 대도시에만 집중하는 모습에서 그동안 ‘코로나 19’ 대응에 있어 비교적 선전했다고 보기는 어렵다는 견해도 있습니다.

[안경수 센터장] 최근(지난 7월 27일) 김정은 위원장의 권총 수여식 사진도 ‘코로나 19’를 의식하지 않으면서 ‘코로나 19’가 잘 관리되고 있다는 것을 대외적으로 과시하고 있지만, 각 지방에도 수많은 주민들이 살고 있거든요. 그 주민들까지 생각하면 과연 ‘코로나 19’ 관리가 제대로 되고 있는지에 대해서는 궁금증이 많은 것이 사실입니다. 북한의 보건 의료 측면에서 보면 수도, 대도시 집중적이거든요. 그동안 대응이 선전했다고 보기는 어렵습니다.

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https://apnews.com/df5d539d53aec6b5c97a7e355d57dbc6

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and PENNY WANG

August 05, 2020

A video obtained by The Associated Press shows plumes of black smoke rising from a North Korean city near the border with China amid reports that deadly explosions occurred there earlier this week.

There has been no official word from North Korea or China about what happened in the North Korean city of Hyesan on Monday. But South Korean media and outside monitoring groups reported that gas explosions in a residential area left dozens of people dead or injured. The AP couldn’t independently confirm the reports.

The video acquired by AP shows orange flames and black smoke shooting into the sky from Hyesan as loud explosion-like sounds are heard. A few people can be seen watching the scene from the Chinese side of the border.

The video was provided by Wang Bo, a travel agent who said he shot it from a park in the Chinese border town of Changbai.

“I just saw explosions and there were a lot of onlookers who were looking in that direction. We don’t know the reason why there were explosions,” Wang said.

Wang, who said he has previously visited Hyesan, said the explosions happened not far from the city’s orphanage and tourism office.

Many Chinese border towns are very close to North Korea, separated only by the river border.

Wang said from Binjiang Park in Changbai where he shot the video, “in summer, we can see North Koreans swim in the river, and in winter, people can walk on the frozen Yalu River.”

The Associated Press verified the location after examining other tourist videos of the park that show the same structures and lights. Other videos of the reported explosions have been circulating on Chinese and South Korean social media.

In Seoul, South Korea’s spy agency and the Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, said they couldn’t immediately confirm the reported explosions. Unification Ministry spokesman Yoh Sangkey still told reporters that he felt sorry for any possible casualties.

The Seoul-based Daily NK, which specializes in North Korea news, on Wednesday cited unidentified sources in North Korea as saying that the explosions left 15 people dead and the death toll could rise. It earlier reported gasoline stored at a house in Hyesan ignited and led to the explosion of a nearby liquid petroleum gas cylinder, and this caused chain explosions of gas cylinders attached to other houses.

Other South Korean media carried similar reports. Ahn Kyung-su, a researcher, said one of his North Korean refugee sources in South Korea told him that she heard from her relative in Hyesan about the reported explosions during a phone conversation on Tuesday.

North Korean state media, which rarely acknowledge deadly accidents in the country, haven’t commented on the reported explosions.

But in 2017, state media reported six people died when the roof of a mine collapsed. In 2014, state media said government officials had offered an apology for the collapse of an apartment building under construction in Pyongyang, the capital.