North Korean Economy Watch

Yonhap
1/15/2007

Four infectious diseases have stricken a North Korean city on the east coast, affecting up to 4,000 people, a source claimed Monday.

“Chongjin is overrun by scarlet fever, typhoid, typhus and paratyphoid. About 3,000 to 4,000 are suffering from the diseases,” the source said, asking to remain anonymous.

The source reported the infected people are mostly under 40 years of age. North Korean health authorities have halted railway operations to prevent the spread of disease and have imposed travel bans.

“When scarlet fever erupted late last year, North Korean authorities also imposed travel bans across the country,” the source added.

Good Neighbors International, a South Korean civic organization which provides aid to North Korea, confirmed that the rapid spread of disease in the North has resulted in school closings and travel bans.

Another source also claimed that Chongjin has only one hospital equipped with 150 beds in each district, but about 600-700 patients are seeking treatment in one district.

Last Thursday, South Korea’s unification minister said the government will not provide any medical aid to North Korea to help stem the spread of scarlet fever in the communist country.

But a South Korean civic group already shipped 36 types of medicine such as penicillin and antibiotics, worth approximately US$5 million, to the impoverished North.

Last month, the Join Together Society, a humanitarian aid group in Seoul, shipped a total of 400,000 injectable doses of penicillin to the North.

Scarlet fever is not an intrinsically serious communicable disease, but if not treated properly it can become as serious as cholera or typhoid.

Korea Herald
Lee Joo-hee
1/12/2007

The newest building in the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong will be up for lease from early next month, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said yesterday.
The apartment-style factory, with a space of some 8,000 pyeong (25,000 square meters), will be large enough for as many as 40 small manufacturers.

Units in the building, constructed by the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation, will be leased to smaller-sized businesses making garments, accessories and other such goods, the Office of Gaeseong Industrial Complex Project at the ministry said.

The building will be completed this June, it said.

This is the first open lease of a building in the industrial park since North Korea’s missile launches last July.

“We have agreed that there was no reason to delay the lease any longer, considering it would provide momentum to the economy and offer opportunities for small- and medium-sized businesses,” Lee said in a weekly press briefing.

The Gaeseong park is favored by companies seeking low rental and labor costs.

But the sale of the remainder of the main complex is still suspended due to a deadlocked security situation following the North’s nuclear test last October.

Output at the industrial park surpassed $10 million for the first time in December last year, Lee said.

Touching on the reported spread of scarlet fever in the North, the minister said the government will not provide medical aid.

“As scarlet fever is not a fatal infectious disease we deem that North Korea will be able to solve the problem on its own. There will be no aid regarding this matter.”

Scarlet fever broke out in northern Ryanggang Province in October last year.

Good Neighbors International, a South Korean civic organization, shipped 36 types of medicines, including penicillin and antibiotics worth some $5 million, to the region.

Last month, the Join Together Society, a humanitarian aid group in Seoul, shipped a total of 400,000 doses of penicillin to the North.

Korea Times
Lee Jin-woo
1/11/2007

Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said Thursday that some 40 small factories, mostly clothing manufacturers, will move into the joint industrial complex in North Korea this year.

But he said it would take more time for the ministry to fully resume the halted expansion of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Last September, the South Korean government decided to hold off expanding the inter-Korean business venture because of heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula after the North’s launching of ballistic missiles in July. After the Stalinist state’s first-ever nuclear test on Oct. 9, tensions increased further.

“We’ve decided not to postpone helping small South Korean manufacturers, which have been struggling with adverse domestic business conditions, especially high wages,” Lee said during a press briefing at the ministry.

The manufacturing companies will move into a new five-story building constructed by the state-run Korea Industrial Complex Corp. involved in a pilot project for the industrial complex.

Construction of the building will be completed by June. It is not related to the postponed sale of the second section of the industrial complex, the minister said.

The number of North Koreans working for the 18 South Korean firms at the industrial complex surpassed 10,000 last year.

When fully expanded by 2012, the complex is expected to house about 2,000 South Korean manufacturers employing about half a million North Koreans, according to the Ministry of Unification.

The minister, however, said more progress in the stalled six-party talks is necessary for the government to resume expansion of the project.

He said he will continue discussing the matter with the Korea Land Corp., a state-run land developer, which has been involved in the Kaesong project, and Hyundai Asan, the business arm of Hyundai Group that handles the Mt. Kumgang tourism project.

Lee said the government would not provide medical aid to the Stalinist state to help stem the spread of scarlet fever, an infectious disease.

“Scarlet fever is not a fatal infectious disease. Given the significance of the disease, we believe that North Korea itself will be able to solve the problem,” Lee said.

The ministry considered providing medical aid to the North after scarlet fever broke out in the northern part of North Korea last October.

Earlier, South Korean humanitarian aid groups shipped 36 types of medicine including penicillin and other antibiotics to Pyongyang.

Yonhap
1/10/2007

A South Korean civic group said Wednesday that it provided medicine to North Korea to help stem the spread of scarlet fever in the communist country.

“We shipped 36 types of medicines such as penicillin and antibiotics worth some US$5 million,” said Good Neighbors International, a South Korean civic organization which provides aid to North Korea.

The group noted that scarlet fever broke out in northern Ryanggang Province in October and spread rapidly to other provinces, which resulted in school shutdowns and travel bans.

Last month, the Join Together Society, a humanitarian aid group in Seoul, shipped a total of 400,000 injectable doses of penicillin to the North.

Scarlet fever is intrinsically not a serious communicable disease, but if it is not treated properly it could become a serious one like cholera or typhoid. The impoverished North lacks medicines.

Korea Times
1/5/2007

North Korea finished constructing a hospital ward for patients with bird flu and other contagious diseases with financial support from the World Health Organization (WHO), a media report said Sunday.

The WHO had been helping North Korea to build the isolation ward inside a Pyongyang hospital since June, said the Chosun Sinbo, published by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.

In early 2005, North Korea reported an outbreak of avian influenza at several chicken farms in Pyongyang and asked for help from the international community.

“As part of preventive measures against the spread of contagious diseases, this ward was constructed in cooperation with the WHO,’’ the pro-Pyongyang newspaper said.

The report, however, did not give details on when the hospital ward would open officially.

According to the newspaper’s earlier reports, the isolation ward in Songsin Hospital will be a single-floor building with eight rooms covering 695 square meters of land.

Daily NK
12/15/2006

“Spread of Scarlet Fever?… Yangkang in Isolation”

An inside North Korean source informed on the 13th that North Korea that has been suffering from “scarlet fever” has completely disconnected all trains to rural districts as well as closing schools in a great attempt to stop the spread of this infectious disease.

A defector Kim revealed a telephone conversation with his family in Musan “Since an infectious disease began to plague the country, all trains ceased have not yet been remobilized and lately due to the movements of the people’s units, regulations have become even stricter.”

Scarlet fever is a contagious disease that often spreads throughout late autumn and early spring. Symptoms include painful tonsils, high temperature and body rash. In South Korea, scarlet fever is merely a group 3 infectious disease and can easily be cured when treated, however in North Korea the disease is known to be spreading as a lack of resource and antibiotics.

The virus began to spread mid-October in the Northern border districts such as Hyesan, Bochoenbo, Baikam of Yangkang province and has began to spread towards rural inland areas of North Korea. Presently, the virus has spread to southern districts such as North Pyongan, Jagang province.

A defector Lee relayed his telephone conversation with his family “All trains that come from northern districts reach Kilju and then turn back. All trains scheduled from Pyongyang-Manpo-Hyesan only reach Manpo, Jagang province and then turn back.” On analyzing the two sources, it can be assumed that trains scheduled for the districts of North Hamkyung and Yangkang have been ceased and the regions in isolation.

Baikam, Hyesan, Bochoenbo elementary and middle school “winter vacation”

Actions taken by authorities to stop the spread of scarlet fever by ceasing train movements is decisively different to that of infectious viruses spreading in the past.

In the 80’s~90’s North Korea experienced an outbreak of a disease similar to “salmonella” and though there was a time when all adults (children and students were excluded) had to obtain a “health report card” for travel, never had trains been immobilized like this time.

Also, it has been confirmed that in the northern districts of Yangkang and Baikam, elementary and middle schools have been temporarily closed due to scarlet fever and the recommencement of study continues to be postponed.

A defector born of this district Kang relayed information “As ‘scarlet fever’ began to spread last November, schools began to close down” and “They ordered not to return to school until early-December but then this was postponed to mid-December.”

Winter vacation in North Korean elementary schools and middle schools roughly last a month beginning in January until early February. Whether or not this long break will replace the winter vacation in January has not yet been revealed by the Education authorities, Kang said.

Kang informed “Until students are told by schools to return, they must remain in isolation” and “It is unknown when this will end as there is no sign as to when the infectious virus will die out.”

He said “As there are no alternate immunization treatments for ‘scarlet fever’, North Korean authorities continue to exhort ‘drink boiled water.’ Even hospitals are short of drugs and medical facilities that they are insensitive to the growing number of patients.”

Joong Ang Daily
12/14/2006

A group of South Korean ginseng farmers will plant and process the medicinal herb in North Korea in the first inter-Korean ginseng venture.

Representatives of the United Korea Ginseng Farming Association Corp., based in South Chungcheong province in South Korea, will visit Pyongyang-based Kwangmyongsong General Corp. to discuss setting up a plant in the North Korean capital, said Lee Kyeong-hoon, president of the ginseng farmers’ association.

“North Korean ginseng is the most expensive in overseas markets,” Mr. Lee said. “We expect higher profits in Hong Kong and China selling products grown in healthier soil and with traditional cultivation methods only available in North Korea.”

South Korea’s government received criticism from the opposition Grand National Party because of its support for North Korean projects like the Kaesong industrial complex after North Korea tested its first nuclear bomb on Oct. 9 and launched missiles in July.

The government rebuffed the criticism, saying the projects don’t support the North Korean weapons program.

Ginseng, a root herb mostly found in Korea, northern China and eastern Siberia, may help improve the survival of cancer patients, according to a March study by the Nashville, Tennessee-based Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

North Korea is providing the buildings, water and electricity while the South Korean association is supplying ginseng seeds and processing facilities.

From the Daily NK
10/30/2006
Kim Young Jin

A number of sources in North Korea told the Daily NK on Wednesday about an epidemic spread along the northern border area of NK including Hyesan, Bochun and Baek-am counties, all in Ryanggang Province. The area was closed and quarantined.

An anonymous former defector in Seoul reported, based on a telephone conversation on Wednesday with her family living in Hyesan, because of a spread of scarlet fever, transportation around the region was interrupted.

Break out of scarlet fever in that area was, reportedly, the first time since 1945.

And “residents of Hyesan do not possess any medical knowledge about the disease,” the informant continued.

North Korean health officials closed the border north to Hyesan and administrative body of the regional government stopped issuing travel permits.

In addition, Railroad Agency and People’s Security Agency (NK police organization) ordered operation of regional transportation system to be suspended. Merchants from other regions were prohibited to enter Hyesan and adjacent area. Also, transaction with Chinese people across the border was banned.

The family of the informant said the local government announced travel permits would not be reissued by Nov. 5.

Besides, due to the temporary travel ban rule, commodity prices in black market skyrocketed; exchange rate reached 100 Chinese yuan per 40,000 NK won and 1 kg of rice cost 1,500 NK won.

Another former defector analyzed that North Korea authorities were trying to regulate the residents after the nuclear test, preventing them from defecting to China.

“In the mid 90s,” the ex-defector continued, “inland residents mass-defected across the border, so the current control of border might be a preventive measure against possible wave of defection after the UN sanction.”

From Yonhap:
10/23/2006

N. Koreans’ life expectancy to be second-lowest in Asia from 2005-2010: report

North Koreans are expected to live 64 years on average between 2005 and 2010, the fewest in Asia after Iraqis, according to government statistics released Monday.

North Korean men are expected to live up to 61.7 years on average, while women were forecast to live for 67.5 years, the National Statistical Office (NSO) and the Bank of Korea said, citing reports from the United Nations.

From the Korea Times:
9/6/2006

A medical checkup of more than 1,000 North Korean defectors indicates that their fellow countrymen in the communist country are generally left defenseless against epidemics, a lawmaker said Wednesday.

Quoting a 2005 report by the state-run Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Rep. Chung Hyung-keun said 77 percent of 1,075 North Korean defectors examined here were found to have suffered diphtheria and rubella while in the North.