Covid-19: China flies to the aid of North Korea

An employee of the Kyonghung Food General Store disinfects the showroom in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, November 10, 2021. AP - Jon Chol Jin

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

More than 1.5 million North Koreans are believed to have been infected since the virus was detected, and nearly 700,000 people are believed to be being treated right now.

The death toll stands at 56 people, according to North Korean propaganda.

According to several media, the authorities have called for help from the Chinese neighbor to receive medical equipment.

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With our correspondent in Seoul,

At least three North Korean planes have made the round trip between Pyongyang and the Chinese city of Shenyang in recent days to recover medical equipment.

In any case, this is what the specialized media NK News and the South Korean agency Yonhap claim.

South Korean proposals unanswered

These are North Korea's first known international flights since March 2020.

, while for more than two years the rare goods have only entered by boat or by train.

If the content of the health aid delivered by Beijing remains unknown, on the other hand it is certain that the multiple South Korean proposals still remain unanswered.

President Yoon Suk-yeol has said he is ready to deliver vaccines, health personnel and medicine, but regardless of the communication channel used, the offer is ignored.

A refusal which can be explained by the tense relations between the two countries, and by the desire expressed by Kim Jong-un in the state media to be inspired by the Chinese strategy to fight against the pandemic.

How to imagine a confinement of 26 million inhabitants?

But without Beijing's infrastructure and resources, it is impossible in North Korea to imagine strict confinement of the 26 million inhabitants.

This Monday, peasants were still working the land near the border with South Korea, a necessity in this period of rice transplanting, vital for the country's food security.

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• North Korea

• China

• Coronavirus

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