(Photo : Photo by KIM WON JIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Two weeks after declaring victory against COVID-19, North Korea has detected new suspected infections in a province near China border.
North Korea reported on Tuesday four suspected cases of COVID-19 in its province close to its border with China, two weeks after Kim Jong Un declared triumph over the deadly virus.
According to state media KCNA, Pyongyang "immediately locked down" the area where the suspected COVID-19 cases were detected.
The area where the suspected cases were found was "immediately locked down," per the state news agency,
citing the country's State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters. KCNA said four "fever cases suspected of being infected with malignant epidemic occurred at a unit in Ryanggang province on August 23."
North Korea's testing skills are inadequate, and suspected Covid infections are referred to as "fever cases."
It reported the first verified cases of COVID-19 in May, describing the outbreak as "explosive" and a "major national emergency," as reported by CNN.
Questionable Claims
Pyongyang has since recorded 4.77 million suspected cases, but no new ones have been reported since July 29, and on August 11th, leader Kim Jong Un declared that they have defeated COVID-19.
Several specialists, including those at the World Health Organization, have questioned its claims.
One source of suspicion is its death rate, which appears extremely low to many experts, especially given that the vast majority of its inhabitants are assumed to be unvaccinated. The country of 25 million people has officially acknowledged 74 deaths, which KCNA earlier attributed to an exceptional "miracle."
North Korea has also claimed success through the deployment of lockdowns, intense medical examinations, and what Kim refers to as the "advantageous Korean-style socialist system."
According to a Reuters report, Pyongyang has lauded its use of daily PCR tests on water collected in border areas and claimed to have discovered new technologies to detect the virus and other diseases such as monkeypox.
In reporting the newest suspected cases, KCNA noted that "no humans have been affected by the malignant pandemic since the dissemination of the malignant virus was eradicated in the country."
Despite its claimed triumph, the country imported Covid prevention and control products from China in July, including over a million face masks and 15,000 pairs of rubber gloves, as per a report from Inquirer.
Some analysts believe North Korea has used the outbreak as an excuse to tighten social controls; others believe the country's announcement of victory over the virus may open the door for its first nuclear test since 2017.
Kim's Sister Blames COVID-19 Outbreak on South Korea
Sky News reported earlier that Kim Yo Jong, Kim's sister, told the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that her brother had "a fever" and blamed the North Korean outbreak on leaflets flying across the border from South Korea.Kim Yo Jong described the country's virus outbreak as a "hysteric farce" manufactured by South Korea to increase tensions.
She reported her brother had fever symptoms and thanked him for his "energetic and meticulous guidance" in bringing about an "epoch-making miracle" in the war with COVID-19.
Kim Yo Jong called South Korea "puppets" who are "thrusting leaflets and dirty objects into our territory." She added, "We must counter it toughly."
"We have already considered various counteraction plans, but our countermeasure must be a deadly retaliatory one," Kim Yo Jong noted.
South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean issues, released a statement conveying deep concern over the North's "extremely insulting and threatening comments" about the origin of their diseases.
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