Government "Closely Monitoring North Korea's Wuhan Pneumonia" Continues to Promote Individual Tourism

No Requests for Quarantine Cooperation from the South

Sang-min Lee, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Unification

North Korea, which has implemented emergency measures to prevent infection from the novel coronavirus known as 'Wuhan pneumonia,' has not made any separate requests to the South regarding quarantine measures as of the morning of the 22nd. The government is closely monitoring North Korea's related movements while continuing to promote individual tourism to North Korea.

Lee Sang-min, spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification, said at a regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the same day, in response to a question asking whether North Korea had requested enhanced quarantine for South Korean personnel entering and exiting the Kaesong Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office in relation to Wuhan pneumonia, "We understand that there have been no particular developments or new movements from the North Korean side specifically related to this (Wuhan pneumonia)."

He added, "North Korean media are reporting on Wuhan pneumonia," but "those reports mainly consist of factual coverage such as 'there are outbreak trends in the Chinese region,' and there have been no reports yet on the internal situation in North Korea." He further stated, "The government is keeping a close watch on the situation in North Korea."

The government also plans to consider necessary measures for personnel entering and exiting the liaison office. The spokesperson said, "All relevant government departments are present at the liaison office," and "if there are any special measures to be taken regarding Wuhan pneumonia, they will be implemented through consultation with the relevant departments."

He continued, "Currently, measures such as providing personal hand sanitizers and personal masks are being implemented," and "additional measures will continue to be reviewed."

Furthermore, he said, "There have been no North Korean personnel coming to our side," and "there are no quarantine measures being taken for personnel from that side (North Korea)."

The government maintains its stance to continue promoting individual tourism to North Korea while monitoring the situation of Wuhan pneumonia.

The spokesperson said, "The government is closely watching the situation related to Wuhan pneumonia and will consider the issue of individual tourism while fully taking these factors into account."

North Korea's Korean Central TV has included the Yangdok Hot Spring Tourist Area in Yangdok County, South Pyongan Province in its weather forecast since the 20th. The Yangdok Hot Spring Tourist Area, a key project of Chairman Kim Jong Un, began its first operation on the 10th.

Meanwhile, North Korea has taken drastic measures to prevent Wuhan pneumonia by completely banning the entry of foreign tourists, including Chinese nationals.

North Korea specialist travel agency 'Young Pioneer Tours' in China announced on its website on the 21st that "North Korean authorities will temporarily suspend the entry of all foreign tourists starting January 22 to prevent coronavirus infection." Another North Korea specialist travel agency, Koryo Tours, also reported on the same day that "North Korean authorities are believed to have taken measures to prevent the coronavirus from entering their country," and that North Korean tourism is temporarily suspended.

The Workers' Party organ, Rodong Sinmun, reported in detail on the outbreak status in China and the Chinese government's response on the 22nd. Korean Central TV also introduced symptoms of Wuhan pneumonia and preventive measures in a broadcast the previous day, stating that they are conducting nationwide efforts to block the virus together with the World Health Organization (WHO).

North Korea's health and quarantine system is among the worst in the world. According to the '2019 Global Health Security Index' report released last year by the U.S. Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), North Korea ranked 193rd out of 195 countries in health security capacity. It scored zero in all categories including emergency preparedness and response planning, response plan exercises, and alert system infrastructure, indicating a complete lack of health response systems.

This situation has drawn attention to whether quarantine cooperation between the South and North could be realized. In the September 2018 Pyongyang Joint Declaration, Article 2, Clause 4, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un promised to "strengthen cooperation in quarantine and health and medical fields, including emergency measures to prevent the inflow and spread of infectious diseases." During last year's African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak, the South consistently proposed cooperation to the North, but North Korea ultimately did not respond at all.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.