Such diseases routinely occur in North Korea, which lacks good water treatment facilities and whose public healthcare infrastructure largely remains broken since the mid-1990s.
A possible new nuclear test by North Korea would be the seventh of its kind. Some experts say North Korea will likely use the test to build warheads to be mounted on tactical nuclear weapons aimed at hitting targets in South Korea.
North Korea may soon up the amp as U.S. and South Korean officials say the country is all but ready to conduct another detonation at its nuclear testing ground in the northeastern town of Punggye-ri.
The United States has vowed to push for additional international sanctions if North Korea conducts a nuclear test, but the prospects for meaningful new punitive measures are dim with the UN Security Council’s permanent members divided.
At a briefing on Wednesday, WHO’s emergencies chief Dr Mike Ryan appealed to North Korean authorities for more information about COVID outbreak there, saying “we have real issues in getting access to raw data and to the actual situation on the ground.”
The US launched the unsuccessful effort on Thursday to punish North Korea which had tested three missiles on Wednesday after US President Joe Biden had wrapped up a visit to South Korea and Japan.
A united Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking- so far unsuccessfully- to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and cut off funding.
Despite what the North’s propaganda is describing as an all-out effort, the fear is palpable among citizens, according to defectors in South Korea with contacts in the North, and some outside observers worry the outbreak may get much worse, with much of an impoverished, unvaccinated population left without enough hospital care and struggling to afford even simple medicine.
North Korea in recent months has test-launched a spate of missiles in what experts call an attempt to modernize its weapons and pressure its rivals to accept the country as a nuclear state and relax their sanctions.
The official Korean Central News Agency reported that more than 1.98 million people have become sick with feverish symptoms since late April, which are mostly believed to be coronavirus omicron variant infections.
At a media briefing, WHO D-G Tedros Adhanom described China’s “zero-COVID” strategy as “not sustainable” after similar remarks last week drew sharp criticism from China.
A failure to control the outbreak could have dire consequences in North Korea, considering its broken health care system and its rejection of internationally offered vaccines that has left a population of 26 million unimmunized.
North Korea likely lacks testing supplies to confirm coronavirus infections in large numbers and its virus response is mostly isolating people with symptoms at shelters.
The North's emergency anti-virus headquarters said more than 1.2 million people fell ill amid a rapid spread of fever since late April and about 564,860 are currently under quarantine.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), top officials, including the country's leader Kim Jong Un, held a crisis politburo meeting to discuss the outbreak and announced they would implement a "maximum emergency" virus control system.
North Korea likely doesn’t have sufficient COVID-19 tests and other medical equipment and said it didn’t know the case of the mass fevers.
Japan's Defense Ministry said the projectile fired by North Korea was a possible ballistic missile.
North Korea so far has shunned vaccines offered by the UN-backed COVAX distribution program, possibly because those have international monitoring requirements.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch occurred from waters near the eastern port city of Sinpo, where North Korea has a major shipyard building submarines.
Kim and Moon shared views that “inter-Korean relations would improve and develop as desired and anticipated by the (Korean) nation if the (North and the South) make tireless efforts with hope,” KCNA said. Moon’s office confirmed the exchange of letters shortly after KCNA’s report
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