Covid-19 in North Korea. Kim Jong Un blames the government for the spread of the virus

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has blasted officials’ negligence and laziness that have worsened the country’s coronavirus outbreak, state media reported on Wednesday, with the number of cases now exceeding 1.7 million.

Chairing a Party meeting on Tuesday, the leader said there was « a lack of maturity in the state’s ability to deal with the crisis and criticized « the non-positive attitude, the softness and the inactivity of the high officials of the State », reported the official KCNA agency.

232,880 new cases of “fever”

North Korea recorded 232,880 new cases of  » fever Tuesday evening, bringing the total toll to 1.72 million cases and 62 deaths, according to the same source. At the meeting on Tuesday, Kim Jong Un promised to “ waking up the whole Party like an active volcano” to counter the spread of the virus.

Since the country announced its first case of Covid last Thursday, the leader has taken personal action in the fight against the outbreak, which he says is causing “great upheavals” in the country. He notably ordered a national confinement, his population not being vaccinated, and deployed the army to help fight against the coronavirus.

Also read: Covid-19. Six questions about the health crisis affecting North Korea

The WHO, however, expressed concern on Tuesday about the havoc Omicron can cause on the unvaccinated population of North Korea and reiterated its offer of assistance ranging from vaccines to medical equipment. For now, the Pyongyang authorities do not seem to have responded to these calls.

North Korea’s healthcare system was ranked 193rd out of 195 countries by a study by the American Johns Hopkins University last year. The country’s hospitals are under-equipped, with few intensive care units. According to experts, the country has no treatment for Covid-19 and does not have the capacity to massively test its population.

The deployed army

The North Korean army has stepped up the distribution of medicine. Hundreds of Korean People’s Army service members in camouflage uniforms were seen gathering in the capital Pyongyang in photos released by KCNA.

the army “has urgently deployed its mighty forces to all pharmacies in Pyongyang city and started supplying drugs as part of a 24-hour service “said KCNA. An agency photo shows soldiers walking past a long line of olive-green trucks.

Authorities have stepped up media awareness campaigns and pharmaceutical companies have increased drug production, KCNA said.

« Most North Koreans are chronically malnourished and unvaccinated, there are hardly any medicines left in the country, and the health infrastructure is unable to cope with this pandemic, » said Lina Yoon, a Korea researcher at Human Rights Watch.

She called on the international community to offer medicines, vaccines and infrastructure to North Korea. So far, Pyongyang has not responded to Seoul’s offer, according to South Korea’s unification ministry.

Continuation of nuclear tests

South Korea’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has taken a tougher stance than his predecessor on his nuclear-armed neighbour. On Monday, he told the National Assembly that he « would not hesitate to provide necessary assistance to the North Korean people“provided he accepts it. Despite the health crisis, new satellite images indicate that North Korea has resumed the construction of a nuclear reactor long interrupted.

Washington and Seoul suspect Pyongyang of preparing a nuclear test, which would be the seventh in its history and the first since 2017, in order to divert the attention of the North Korean population from the health crisis.