E-Paper
WHO to send essential Covid-19 medical supplies to North Korea via Chinese port
WHO had claimed earlier in a monitoring report that North Korea has reported zero cases of Covid-19 till the end of September.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared in its latest weekly monitoring report that it will be sending essential Covid-19 aid to North Korea through the Chinese border port of Dalian.
"To support DPR Korea with essential COVID-19 medical supplies, WHO started the shipment through Dalian port, China for strategic stockpiling and further dispatch to DPR Korea," the UN body said.
WHO had claimed earlier in a monitoring report that North Korea has reported zero cases of Covid-19 till the end of September. The country told WHO that some 40,700 people were tested till September 23, including health care workers and those with flu-like symptoms, for Covid-19 but all of them tested negative.
The highly secretive nation shut its borders in January last year and imposed strict measures to combat the virus, describing its campaign as a matter of “national existence”. This has put additional strain on the country’s resources and economy. A Reuters report opined that WHO’s efforts to provide aid to North Korea might be a signal of the nation easing its border rules.
Also Read: North Korea's Kim Jong Un seen with head bandage, sparks yet another round of health speculation
So far the country has resisted any help from nations, refusing vaccine shipments from close ally China and Russia. China made Covid-19 vaccine, Sinovac, was offered to North Korea under the Covax program, but the country asked for it to be distributed among harder hit nations in view of the global vaccine shortage.
In July of this year Russia’s offer of Sputnik shot donations was also rejected by North Korea. In addition to this an offer of donation of AstraZeneca shots have also been met with refusal. The state owned television in North Korea have regularly highlighted cases of adverse reaction to vaccines reported in the US and Europe, which experts opine points towards the nation’s vaccine hesitancy, and the ruling elite’s disapproval of international monitoring requirements that would be attached to the vaccines it receives from the outside world.
WHO’s announcement of shipping aid to North Korea comes weeks after Kim Jong Un urged party workers to fight the virus in “our style”.
