{"id":4766,"date":"2020-11-26T09:19:28","date_gmt":"2020-11-26T00:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4766"},"modified":"2022-05-16T18:01:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T09:01:09","slug":"korona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2020\/11\/military\/korona\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea Under Strict Coronavirus Watch Again, Military Soldiers Ordered to Stay on Base"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Soldiers wander the market. Photographed in Anju City, South Pyongan Province, in September 2008 by ASIAPRESS.<\/p><\/div>\n

North Korean authorities are increasing their measures against coronavirus even further. It has been reported from all over the country that tough measures such as quarantines and blockades have been strictly implemented in November in response to cases with even mild symptoms such as fever or cough.<\/p>\n

The military is especially tightly controlled. Since February, when coronavirus became prevalent in China, soldiers have been banned from going on holiday or contacting civilians, and police officers have taken measures to monitor soldiers' behavior by patrolling the streets.<\/p>\n

However, in early summer, when working outside bases, such as on the military paddy fields and on flood recovery projects, military personnel violated protocol by contacting civilians to ask for food or buy alcohol and cigarettes. This was an inevitable product of the poor diet afforded to military units.<\/p>\n

In November, the enforcement of restrictions on military soldiers and civilians got stricter.<\/p>\n

All soldiers are prohibited from leaving base and contact with civilians is strictly prohibited. A reporting partner from Ryanggang Province said it was no longer possible to see soldiers around the city except for those working.<\/p>\n

Because they live in a confined space, military units are an environment prone to mass coronavirus infections. It seems that the authorities are trying to minimize contact between soldiers and civilians ahead of winter when ventilation of living quarters is at its worst.
\nNextPage: \u25c6Soldiers can't even go to the farm to...<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A thin young man, a military officer, buying goods at a market. Photographed in Hyesan City, Ryanggang Province, in August, 2013 (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6Soldiers can't even go to the farm to pick up rice<\/h2>\n

On the other hand, blocking soldiers from seeing civilians is causing problems in securing food for the military. Normally, in October and November, soldiers go to cooperative farms to secure food by joining the harvest- but it is now difficult for the food to be transported to bases.<\/p>\n

After harvesting rice or corn from the paddy field, it would normally be dried, threshed, and taken for military use. But plaguing such operations is the issue of theft. Each year, soldiers went to farms to monitor the harvest, and soldiers from rear units would take control of transporting the supply after the crops were threshed.<\/p>\n

This year, however, the situation is different. A reporting partner who is investigating a farm in North Hamkyung Province said the following on November 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome time ago, all the soldiers monitoring the harvest were withdrawn and police were used instead. This was to avoid contact between soldiers and civilians. The job of transporting crops also changed hands from the soldiers to military laborers (workers in charge of odd jobs in the military), but the work is being delayed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Problems are springing up in the villages. Farmers had been promised payment by soldiers for the food and goods they had supplied to the military on credit. According to the reporting partner, \u201cThere are many farmers who failed to recover their losses because of the sudden withdrawal [of soldiers.]\"<\/p>\n

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The cover of the \u201cJuly 25th message\u201d document, in which Kim Jong-un acknowledges an outbreak of coronavirus. The document is marked top-secret.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6 Kim Jong-un admitted to coronavirus outbreak<\/h2>\n

At the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea on October 10, Kim Jong-un declared \"zero infections\" by saying, \"Thank you for all being healthy without a single victim of the malicious virus.\u201d Indeed, North Korea continued to report to the World Health Organization (WHO) that there have been no infections so far. However, the internal documents obtained by ASIAPRESS contained remarks by Kim Jong-un acknowledging the coronavirus's entry into the region, admitting, \"We could not stop it.\u201d (Kang Ji-won)<\/p>\n

\u203b ASIAPRESS contacts its reporting partners in North Korea through smuggled Chinese mobile phones.<\/p>\n

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