May 20 2022 01:00
North Korea has sent three of its largest cargo planes to China to request assistance and medical supplies to help contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, according to local media reports.
Pyongyang has been keeping a secret of Corona’s injuries, forcing last week for the first time to announce the registration of HIV infections. Since then, it has reported about two million cases of “fever” and 63 deaths, with the virus spreading among its unvaccinated residents.
State media reports do not specify the number of people infected and deceased who have tested positive for Covid, but experts say the country’s dilapidated health system will struggle with widespread testing and diagnosis.
The outbreak was an admission of the failure of the strict lockdown imposed by Pyongyang two years ago against the backdrop of the emergence of the virus, which has come at a heavy economic cost.
South Korea again offered assistance last week, but Pyongyang has yet to respond to Seoul’s offer, officials said.
Beijing also made a new offer to help Pyongyang.
Although there is no official confirmation from either side, North Korea appears to have accepted the Chinese offer and sent three cargo planes to Shenyang to bring medical supplies, according to South Korean Yonhap News Agency.
The report said that Soviet-made IL-76 cargo planes, capable of carrying 50 tons of cargo, were among the largest aircraft owned by the nuclear state.
The agency added, quoting unnamed sources, that North Korea preferred the air route over the ground “to speed up the transportation of large shipments.”
For its part, NK said Thursday that satellite images showed three planes “matching the measurements of the IL-76 at Shenyang Airport on Monday morning.”
Other photos showed that the planes were “transferred to an isolated area of Pyongyang’s airport” and indicated possible signs of “goods being unloaded from the planes and their storage.”
In addition, North Korea has ramped up production of medical supplies such as antipyretic drugs and thermometers since declaring a “state of extreme emergency” due to the outbreak, state media reported Thursday.
The official Central News Agency reported that thousands of tons of salt were sent to the capital “under an emergency order” to produce disinfectants.
Source: agencies
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