{"id":5830,"date":"2022-05-24T10:57:04","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T01:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=5830"},"modified":"2022-05-25T16:21:54","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T07:21:54","slug":"korona-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2022\/05\/society-economy\/korona-7\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cN. Korea\u2019s COVID-19 pandemic\uff1e Reports of people dying following the lockdown of Hyesan, Yanggang Province\u2026The authorities fail to provide medicine and medicine to those in isolation\u2026The Kim Jong-un regime is intent to prevent information leaks about the situation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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North Korean soldiers patrolling the Yalu River with masks on. The soldiers in the camouflage clothing are border patrol, while those in the brown uniforms are Korean People\u2019s Army soldiers. An old, abandoned boat can be seen in the background. This photo was taken by ASIAPRESS on the Chinese side of the border in July 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n

According to two ASIAPRESS reporting partners who delivered reports on May 19 and May 20, Hyesan, a major city in Yanggang Province in North Korea\u2019s northern region, was completely locked down on May 14, with people prohibited from leaving their homes. According to the reporting partners, Hyesan\u2019s markets were shut down, and there appears to have deaths among residents who were unable to leave their homes. Apprehension in the city is rising because of the spread of COVID-19 and the lack of food. (KANG Ji-won \/ ISHIMARU Jiro<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\u25c6 N. Korean authorities are focused on preventing information leaks<\/h2>\n

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea has led the Kim Jong-un regime to increase efforts to prevent leaks of information to the outside world, and the authorities have dispatched security officials and cadres to the country\u2019s border with China with a view to strengthen these efforts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015\u2015 We\u2019ve look forward to hearing from you. What does the situation in Hyesan look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D:<\/strong> \u3000Hyesan was completely locked down on May 14. I can see a vehicle that detects radio signals parked outside my apartment. It\u2019s there 24 hours a day. The only vehicles on the roads are these kinds of vehicles and military cars. Outside, I can only hear people barking instructions at others about things they shouldn\u2019t do. I\u2019ve heard the Ministry of State Security has been fully mobilized to ensure information (about what\u2019s happening) doesn\u2019t make it to the outside world. I was so scared that I couldn\u2019t deliver my report to ASIAPRESS on time. It\u2019s hard to get a signal on our phones. It\u2019s particularly difficult to call people in Pyongyang.<\/p>\n

\u203b North Korean authorities have mobilized patrols equipped with radio signal detectors in cities bordering China as part of efforts to track down callers using Chinese mobile phones. Radio signal detection vehicles with antennas can reportedly identify and track down Chinese mobile phone signals in a short amount of time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015\u2015 Are people banned from leaving their homes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D:<\/strong> \u3000The whole place is in an uproar. People don\u2019t know when the lockdown will end. I don\u2019t know what the market prices are because the markets have been closed. In the middle of the night, a neighbor knocked on my door asking for rice. I told them that we could exchange the rice for a household electronic device in their home. If things continue like this, we could all starve. There\u2019s rice in my house, but I\u2019m worried because there\u2019s no wood to burn (in the stove) to make it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015\u2015How is the government responding to the crisis? Are the authorities supplying food and medical supplies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D:<\/strong> \u3000There\u2019s a new organization called the \u201cemergency quarantine team.\u201d They wear protective clothing and go around to the homes of people with fevers to check whether they are still alive or not. I\u2019ve heard that they\u2019ve imported medicine from China and are distributing it to people who really need it. I don\u2019t know what kind of medicine it is, and I haven\u2019t yet received any.<\/p>\n

Also, the local government (the people\u2019s committee) has promised to distribute food, but there\u2019s been nothing yet. I\u2019ve heard there\u2019s almost no reserves of food in the provinces (areas outside of Pyongyang). (The authorities) are saying that people with extra (food) should help everyone get through the crisis, but that\u2019s ridiculous. People will steal food. Everyday, vehicles with speakers blaring propaganda go around telling everyone that \u201cThis is an urgent situation, so let\u2019s work together to get through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015\u2015 Has anyone died in the city?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D:<\/strong> \u3000Today (May 19), my inminban (people\u2019s unit) reported that a young woman and man had died. I haven\u2019t gone to check myself, so I don\u2019t really know why they died.<\/p>\n

Water doesn\u2019t come out of the faucets of our apartment anymore, so we have to go to a well to bring water back up to our homes without making contact with anyone else. However, there was one household that didn\u2019t go out to get water in this way. The \u201cemergency quarantine team\u201d went to check up on them and found that they had all collapsed due to hunger, though they weren\u2019t dead yet. I hear them crying in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015\u2015 Is that because someone has died? Or are they crying because there\u2019s nothing to eat?<\/strong><\/p>\n

D:<\/strong> \u3000I\u2019ve tried knocking on their door, but they didn\u2019t open it because they seem scared about COVID-19.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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A scene from Hyesan taken by ASIAPRESS in July 2010 from the Chinese side of the border.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6 Frightened about the coronavirus, the reporting partner asks ASIAPRESS about symptoms caused by the coronavirus<\/h2>\n

Hyesan\u2019s sudden lockdown appears to have led to widespread fear about COVID-19, which remains a mystery to many people. \u201cD\u201d asked ASIAPRESS a flurry of questions about the coronavirus, including its symptoms, what kind of fevers the coronavirus causes, and what kind of medicines those infected should take.<\/p>\n

D:<\/strong> \u3000There\u2019s no medicine in our house except for pain relievers, and I\u2019m taking them right now because I\u2019m scared about the virus. I\u2019ve heard there\u2019s been large numbers of COVID-19 patients in Japan and South Korea. What\u2019s the situation in those places now?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015\u2015The number of infected continues to decline, and in South Korea it\u2019s now okay to walk around outside without a mask. People in Europe and America are not required to wear masks anymore, and they are even allowed to watch soccer games in stadiums again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

D:\u3000<\/strong> Really? I\u2019m jealous. They tell us here that we\u2019ll be fine if we just have cold medicine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015\u2015 The spread of the virus has declined in Japan and South Korea after people got a third dose of the vaccines. People will be getting a fourth dose going forward.<\/strong><\/p>\n

D:<\/strong> \u3000People have had three doses? Are the vaccines expensive? Can you send them to me? I\u2019d like to get vaccinated. There\u2019s little medicine available. I feel sorry for everyone here. Our country is poor, and people die when they get COVID-19.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u25c6 People in isolation get no rice nor medicine<\/h2>\n

Another ASIAPRESS reporting partner in Hyesan, \u201cE,\u201d delivered a brief report about conditions in the city on May 20. \u201cE\u201d said that he had been placed in isolation because a close relative had come down with a fever. ASIAPRESS and \u201cE\u201d were barely able to connect by phone, but he was able to deliver the following brief report.<\/p>\n

E:<\/strong> \u3000The relative had a fever and complained that his symptoms were worse than a cold. It\u2019s not clear whether its COVID-19 or not. He is still in isolation, but he hasn\u2019t received any medicine or anything to eat from the government. He has reserves of rice, but there\u2019s no firewood to burn to make it, so he hasn\u2019t eaten for two days. He\u2019s said that his condition has improved a lot, however.<\/p>\n

\u203b Hyesan was put under lockdown in November 2020 and February 2021 after it was discovered that people had crossed over the border from China. At the time, there were reports that people had died due to the lack of food and medicine.<\/p>\n

\u203b ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.<\/p>\n

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Map of North Korea ( ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

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