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N Korea ‘hit by measles epidemic’

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

BBC
2/20/2007

North Korea has been hit by a measles epidemic that has killed four people and infected some 3,000, the Red Cross has said.

Measles has been found in 30 counties since the outbreak began in November, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

Pyongyang has requested five million doses of vaccine to fight the epidemic.

Correspondents say medicine is in short supply and years of malnutrition has weakened resistance to disease.

In a statement, the IFRC said North Korea had confirmed two children and two adults had died from measles and its complications such as pneumonia.

More than 1,000 people are still receiving treatment for the disease.

The authorities in Pyongyang only confirmed the measles outbreak last week because the disease was believed to have been eradicated from the country in 1992, the federation statement added.

The Red Cross, the World Health Organization and other international bodies are now helping to tackle the outbreak.

There have been recent reports of outbreaks of scarlet fever and typhoid in the reclusive Communist state, where most people are faced with daily food shortages and a dilapidated health service.

4 Dies From Measles Epidemic in North Korea
Korea Times
2/20/2007

A measles epidemic has claimed at least four lives and infected about 3,000 people in North Korea, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Monday.

The federation said in a statement that measles has been found in 30 North Korean counties since the outbreak started in November last year.

It added that four deaths were reported on Jan. 4 when two children and two adults died from measles and its complications such as pneumonia. Around 3,000 North Koreans were confirmed to have infected with the disease.

Pyongyang has asked international organizations for massive doses of vaccine to prevent further spread of the epidemic.

The North has requested 5 million doses of measles vaccine to immunize its citizens aged from seven to 45.

The requested doses cost $1.5 million, and North Korea will pay the costs for transportation, distribution and staff training.

UNICEF is expected to lead the immunization campaign and keep the related organizations informed of developments.

North Korea’s Ministry of Public Health confirmed the measles epidemic last Thursday, and the information was immediately discussed in a joint meeting the following day by the North Korean Red Cross, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

The federation said the disease was initially believed to be rubella. The first identification of measles came on Nov. 6 in the northern region of the country.

It added that the communist country has failed to bring the epidemic under control and the disease spread throughout the country.

The WHO supplied Pyongyang with testing kits in January, but there were constraints because North Korea was thought to have eradicated the disease in 1992.

The country’s health care workers were thus not familiar with the disease, the federation pointed out.

Posted in Epidemics, Health care, International/Korean Red Cross | Comments Closed

Korean-American Aid Group to Send More Medical Aid to North Korea

Friday, February 9th, 2007

Korea Times
2/9/2007

A Korean-American aid group based in the United States said Thursday it was sending its 17th shipment of medical relief goods worth $4.8 million to North Korea, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

The Institute for Strategy and Reconciliation (ISR), a think tank also active in international assistance, said the shipment this month will go to helping more than 20,000 North Korean children and the handicapped by providing antibiotics, wheelchairs and crutches.

Yonhap reported the aid will also include stethoscopes and various surgical and medical equipment.

“The latest assistance will leave from San Francisco and will reach North Korea’s Nampo Port by the end of March,” the group said in a press release.

The group will also provide individually tailored artificial limbs while the staff is in the North, the first American relief group to do so.

ISR began its North Korea program in 1998 with the approval of the U.S. Treasury. As of this month, the group has provided medical assistance valued at approximately $27.4 million.

The group is also recruiting volunteers through the end of this month to help post-surgery rehabilitation programs for children and the handicapped in North Korea.

Posted in Health care, Institute for Strategy and Reconciliation, International Aid | Comments Closed

Family Planning Campaign

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

Korea Times
Andrei Lankov
1/22/2007

Old-style Communism had no doubt about the birthrate. Its approach to fertility was simple and straightforward: the higher, the better. There could be no such a thing as too many soldiers or too many workers.

Thus, Communist states went to great lengths to stimulate the birth rate. Of course, material incentives of all kinds were used widely: an additional tax levied on childless people, heavily subsidized kindergartens and creches, long maternity leaves.

Large families enjoyed special access to goods and services, a significant privilege in an economy based on distribution, and plagued by scarcity.

The material incentives were augmented by intense propaganda.

In the USSR from 1944, a mother who raised more than seven children was decorated with a special order and provided with many privileges. The caveat was that it was not enough to just give birth seven times: the decoration could only take place when the youngest of the seven children reached the age of one year.

The same approach was adopted by North Korea in the early stages of its history. Any other policy would be strange: the country suffered huge population losses in 1945-1953, partially due to the war and partially due to the large-scale migration to the South.

The population was believed to be 9.3 million in 1946, but by 1953 it had declined to 8.3 million.

In 1966 the fertility rate in North Korea reached the very high level of 6.5 children per woman. This was higher than the fertility rate in the South where it had already begun to decline, not least due to a government- sponsored campaign.

But then something happened. Around 1970, fertility rates nose-dived in the North, supplying one of the most dramatic reductions in the world’s demographic history. They dropped to 4.5 in 1974 and then to 3.5 in 1976. The crude birth rate, measured in the number of live births per 1000, declined from 35 in 1970 to 18 in 1976, thus halving in merely seven years.

All these figures are quite reliable since demographic statistics are probably the only kind of North Korean statistics decently known to the outside world. We know this through a blunder by the North Korean authorities who, in the early 1990s, invited a group of foreign experts on demographics to the country and provided them with full access to the relevant data. This was done to get their advice on the forthcoming population census.

To make sure that the foreigners would not create any harm, the data was slightly doctored, but the North Korean officials obviously did not realize that demographic data is, by its very nature, remarkably consistent, so an expert can easily reconstruct missing sections. When they understood their mistakes, the authorities tried to prevent the data from being published, but it was too late.

This statistics which became available in the 1990s confirmed what was long suspected: in the early 1970s, North Korea waged a highly intensive and highly successful family planning campaign. The information about this campaign has filtered out through defectors, but few if any experts understood how dramatic and decisive it actually was.

In the early 1970s, abortions were legalized and education about contraceptive procedures became obligatory in all kinds of health centers. Despite increasing difficulties with all kinds of goods, the contraceptive devices were widely manufactured and freely distributed.

The three-child family was proclaimed an ideal, and from 1978 the desirable number of children was further cut to two.

Around the same time, the marriage age was increased dramatically. The legal marriage age remained the same, but the public North Korean laws are not necessarily written to be followed.

The actual life of the country is determined by instructions, of which the instructions by the Great Leader himself are by far most important. And the Great Leader said in 1971, and said in no uncertain terms, that the youth should be sacrificed for the sake of revolution, not for raising families. In his wisdom he said that a good time to marry would be when a woman reached 28 and a man reached 30. Needless to say, a wish of the Great Leader became instantly the law of the land.

But it was never stated that all these measures were aimed at curbing birth rates. This was the major peculiarity of the entire campaign: in spite of its huge scale, it remained essentially secret. Perhaps, the North was unique in being the world’s only state which was in position to wage an invisible campaign of this kind.

The existence of very efficient and non-transparent channels of influence created such a unique opportunity: orders could be transmitted through party bureaucracy to every family without attracting anybody’s attention, while incentives could be distributed and punishment could be inflicted without much noise.

It is not clear what made Pyongyang undertake such a dramatic reversal of its earlier policies. From the officially published documents of the 1970s it seems that Kim Il-sung began to worry whether grain production was growing fast enough. Perhaps, it was decided to curb population growth because the government was not sure whether it would be able to feed more mouths in the future.

Perhaps, the impact of the intense South Korean family planning campaign was also felt in the North. Unlike lesser beings, North Koreans leaders have always been careful readers of the South Korean press, and they often imitated their adversaries in everything from dress fashions to ideological trends.

Finally, the changing mood of the developing world may have played a role. The early 1970s was the period when developing countries came to see population growth as a problem rather than an opportunity.

At any rate, the program was remarkably successful. Nothing like it could happen these days, when Pyongyang is gradually loosing its ability to monitor and direct all activities of its subjects. The days of Stalinism with North Korean characteristics are long gone.

Posted in Agriculture, Civil society, Health care, Pediatrics | Comments Closed

S. Korea Investigating Aid to North

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

Donga (Hat Tip DPRK Studies)
1/22/2007

It is expected that the government’s aid to North Korea will be affected as the international community has decided to investigate the general situation of aid projects using U.N. funding including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). So far, the government and private groups supporting North Korea have often used international organizations as a means to give humanitarian aid to the North, as such aid through the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and others are less influenced by the inter-Korean relations.

Last year, the government and private organizations didn’t provide previously planned corn aid to the North in the aftermath of North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests. However, they spent 5.912 billion won in malaria preventive measures and infant and child support.

In 2005, they sent products worth 25.773 billion won in food aid and quarantine measures against malaria. Besides, they provided goods worth 2.254 billion won in aid and preventive measures against malaria with the North in 2004, and offered North Korea goods worth 20.303 billion won in corn, malaria preventive measures, and vaccine and immunizing agents in 2003.

The total sum Korea spent on the North in humanitarian assistance over the last 10 years (from 1995 to 2004) amounts to $119.43 million, 7.99 percent of the total U.N. financial aid of $1.49 billion to North Korea. During the period, apart from world organizations, the government gave the North $1.16 billion in financial support.

A government official said, “The government’s support for North Korea through international groups is its obligation as a responsible member of the international community,” and added, “Assistance for North Korea through world organizations is for humanitarian purposes, and as far as I know, there is no possibility for misappropriating funds since the aid is being carried out based on a principle of providing 100 percent goods.”

However, contrary to the above government’s official statement, the government seems rather perplexed at the suspicion that its aid through world organizations was diverted to be used for the North’s nuclear development program. The government has used world organizations as an indirect route for its aid toward North Korea because it was worried about getting embroiled in accusations that it is being too lenient on North Korea.

Unification Minister Lee Jae-Jeong also said in his inaugural speech that even humanitarian aid should be divided into emergency aid, assistance in loan form and aid for development, and that emergency aid should continue under any circumstances in order to emphasize the continuation of government’s support for North Korea through world organizations.

Minister Lee has so far expressed regret to the WFP over the suspension of food aid to the North and emergency relief aid for North Korea’s catastrophic flood damage. Another government official stated, The “UNDP seems to have nothing to do with humanitarian aid since it is aid for the development of North Korea. Still, it will still affect the government’s humanitarian assistance program for the North in the future.”

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the government is investing in the Tumen River Area Development Programme (TRADP) the government has been participating in since 1995 under the auspices of the UNDP. An official at the Ministry of Finance and Economy noted, “This year, the government will pay $181,000 for the operating expenses of the TRADP office.”

Posted in Economic reform, Epidemics, Foreign direct investment, Health care, International Aid, Pediatrics, South Korea, Tumen River Area Development Programme (TRADP), UN World Food Program, UNDP, UNWHO | Comments Closed

North Koreans given cause to beef

Thursday, January 18th, 2007

Asia Times
Robert Neff
1/18/2007

In a country infamous for famines, it is no wonder that cattle in North Korea are prized so highly and considered “national property”. According to government sources, North Korea had about 575,000 head of cattle in 2002, but considering the recent floods and food shortages this number may have dropped. In addition to the floods and food shortages, North Koreans must contend with the bovine diseases that cause health concerns not only to the cattle, but also for the people.

The most serious incident took place last summer. It began in the North Korean region of Yanggang. A horrible and mysterious disease that the frightened residents called “leprosy” for the impact on victims, causing them to break out in boils and oozing skin that progressed to the point that, as one North Korean defector described it, left its victims looking “like pieces of sliced meat”.

The story was first reported by the North Korea Daily (July 27, 2006), which described the disease as an epidemic, but no one knows just how many victims it has claimed. One defector living in South Korea told a newspaper reporter that he had spoken with some members of his family still in North Korea who informed him the “rotten flesh disease” was spreading throughout the northern provinces.

Many North Korean residents believed that the disease originated from contaminated beef sold in the Jangmadang markets. Apparently there was some truth to their suspicions. According to the North Korea Daily, the sale of beef and the movement of cattle in the region were banned or tightly controlled.

What was the disease? Several veterinarian experts contacted suggested that it was anthrax, a naturally occurring disease among cattle and other hoofed mammals. All agreed that if a person ate the flesh of an anthrax-diseased animal he had a high risk of dying.

But not all of the experts agreed that it was anthrax. Dr Martin Hugh-Jones of Louisiana State University conceded that the “oozing skin sores” might well be anthrax cutaneous lesions, but “while it is tempting to suggest ‘anthrax’, I know of no lesions involving peeling skin or people looking like ‘sliced meat’.”

It is almost inconceivable that people would willingly eat the flesh of a possibly diseased animal, but it has happened several times in North Korea. In fact, many North Korean people believe that contaminated meat can be eaten if it is boiled at 100 degrees Celsius or higher.

Last January, farmers in the Tuman River region began to lose cattle to a disease they simply called the “cow disease”. The cattle all displayed the same symptoms: hooves splitting, heavy drooling, and sores in their mouths and on their tongues. Local health officials were called in. They determined that the disease had traveled across the Tuman River from China.

In December 2005, China reported several outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in the interior provinces, but it was suspected that the disease had also spread to Heilongjang province, one of China’s key cattle raising areas located along the North Korean border, and possibly into neighboring Russia.

Dr Peter Roeder of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Dr Hugh-Jones agree that the symptoms appear to be indicative of foot-and-mouth disease. Roeder stated, “I did not have information that it had got into North Korea but I am not surprised.”

At least one region was quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease. Cattle that displayed any of the symptoms were quickly killed and buried in deep pits in a further effort to prevent the spread of the disease. Despite the North Korean officials’ precautions to ensure that the cattle carcasses were buried, it was soon discovered that two of the infected cows were missing. Someone had dug them up.

The local officials warned the people that eating the contaminated meat could kill children under the age of five. Roeder insisted that foot-and-mouth disease did not affect humans, and Hugh-Jones supported him by adding, “Eating such a carcass should not of itself be dangerous other than the usual dangers from eating meat from sick and moribund animals.”

Did contaminated meat cause the strange leprosy-like disease that allegedly plagued Yanggang? Were diseased cattle carcasses dug up from pits, butchered, sold and eaten by hungry or greedy residents? Both doctors agreed that North Korea is a black hole for disease information and that in such countries nasty diseases will be politically unattractive and therefore official reports will be played down and minimal.

Both doctors were again in agreement when they observed that defectors and refugees have a poor record of reliability in what they say and write. Exaggeration is the commonest characteristic, they said.

But not all possibly contaminated meat originated in North Korea.

In 2001, during the height of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease) scare in Europe, many countries slaughtered hundreds of thousands of head of cattle in an effort to check the disease. Famine-stricken North Korea agreed to accept some of the possibly contaminated beef from Germany and Switzerland (see German meat may be North Korean poison, Asia Times Online, February 23, 2001).

As retired veterinarian Patricia Doyle noted, “It is a very nasty stunt to pass on infected cattle to any people, regardless of their ideology. It is the government who may have political differences not the people.”

But if a government would be desperate enough to feed its citizens meat possibly contaminated with a fatal disease, how far are starving people willing to go to satisfy, if only for a short time, the hunger in their bellies? Further, it seems, than most of us would like to acknowledge.

Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture statistics, Epidemics, General markets (FMR: Farmers Market), Health care | Comments Closed

Drug Smuggling Caught on Tape

Thursday, January 18th, 2007

Daily NK
Yang Jung A
1/18/2007

On the 9th, a Japanese broadcast “tv asahi” exposed footages of drug smuggling at a boarder station between North Korea and China.

The footage caught a North Korean dealer crossing the Tumen River via a tube. On meeting a female Chinese dealer, the North Korean dealer unraveled a pink package which contained an envelope written “Opium powder” in red.

The drug seems to have been manufactured at “Ranam pharmaceutical factory.” This factory is known for its manufacture of mediocre drugs. Although opium is normally supposed to be packaged as medication, it is common that the drug falls into the hands of smugglers.

The moment the Chinese dealer gets hold of the package, she confirms the quality of the drug and hands over Chinese currency. The North Korean dealer counts the money and scurries back over to North Korea. It was agreed that additional dealings would be made via the telephone.

The transaction that was made on this day was 8~9 bags, each containing 100g of opium.

As the international community continues to enforce its regulations against drugs and counterfeit dollars, drugs dealings have taken effect in North Korea with increasing illegal trades occurring between China and North Korea, the broadcast claimed. In addition, the number of drug addicts in North Korea is also on the rise.

The footage also captured the North Korean drug dealers sniffing the drugs as well as the dealers talking about the transaction. Of the dealers, one person was a worker managing the level of humidity at a manufacturing factory and seemingly the intermediary supplier who obtained the drugs.

It seems that the 3~4 people sitting in a circle are personally testing the quality of the drugs before purchase. Although the dealer’s child has entered the room, the buyers continue to inhale the drugs.

The woman who seems to be buying the drugs in this footage, scrupulously inhales the drug as if her body was very accustomed to it.

The woman showed signs of drug addiction murmuring “I’m so used to it (taking drugs). My hardest moment was when I was in custody. If I can’t sniff any drugs, my nose is runny and my head spins.”

Also, she suggested that drug addiction had spread throughout North Korea “It has spread from the top, right to the bottom.”

As the dealers need to give bribes to the border guards, a deposit is first received then the balance paid after the goods given.

Comments were also made on the distribution of the latest drugs. The latest drug, blue in color is made naturally and is much more effective than the original, so is very popular amongst the rich.

Of the people there, one man was acting as the link to the boarder patrol, whereas the remaining people examined the issue of reliable Chinese buyers.

The first footage exclusive of North Koreans communally taking drugs was exposed in Korea by the DailyNK in October 2005.

Posted in China, Drug smuggling, Health care, Illicit activities, International trade | Comments Closed

More Than 3,000 Infected With Disease in Chongjin

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007

Daily NK
Yang Jung A
1/17/2007

Recently, infectious diseases have been spreading throughout North Korean regions with North Korean authorities in a state of emergency, sources informed.

A source revealed in a phone conversation with the DailyNK on the 15th “There are 4 different diseases spreading throughout North Korea. Scarlet fever, typhoid, paratyphoid and typhus fever” and said “North Korean regions including Pyongyang are under extreme caution.” However, the source informed that figures indicating the number of deaths caused by the diseases had not yet been released.

He said “Scarlet fever originated in the province of Yangkang last October and has spread to Pyongyang, prevailing throughout the country” and added “though it could be easily treated with antibiotics, the nation cannot give us the supplies and we cannot go to the hospital as the cost of medicine has risen.”

Though it is not the right season for these illnesses to be spreading, the source revealed his thoughts that the diseases had dispersed due to the contamination of drinking water.

He said “As electricity is only supplied 1~2 hours a day, the water pump does not function properly and so water can only be derived from the tap for 1 hour, once a week” and “As a result, people resorted to the mountains and river for water and despite it being winter, it seems the diseases spread this way.”

In the conversation, the source residing in North Korea said “Chongjin is in a severe crisis” and “Undoubtedly schools and enterprises found to be infected have closed doors. Train operations have also been suspended, so all movement has been stopped.”

Also, he reported “As all modes of transportation have been suspended beginning with the trains, whenever transport is used, health permits (certifying that you have no infectious disease) are verified and so travel has become regulated.”

“The whole city has been infected with the disease and has become immobilized” explained the source.

In addition, he said “About 300~400 people from each district have been found to be infected with the disease and are receiving treatment at home. In Chongjing alone, it is likely that more than 3,000 people are disease infected with the majority of people infected with scarlet fever.”

Further, he informed “More and more of the lower class are dying of starvation and are becoming street dwellers as they cannot work due to their sickness” and said “in order to prevent people from dying of starvation, each district is accommodating 200 people in the hospitals.”

Posted in Disease prevention, Epidemics, Health care, Railways, Transportation | Comments Closed

Infectious diseases plague N. Korean city: source

Monday, January 15th, 2007

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.

Posted in Epidemics, Good Friends, Health care, International Aid, Railways | Comments Closed

Gaeseong site opened for lease

Friday, January 12th, 2007

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.

Posted in Epidemics, Good Friends, International Aid, Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) | Comments Closed

Kaesong Site to House 40 More Manufacturers

Thursday, January 11th, 2007

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.

Posted in Epidemics, Foreign direct investment, Health care, Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), South Korea | Comments Closed

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