"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under."
~ H.L. Menchken
"It is dangerous to be the right when the government is wrong."
~ Voltaire (1694-1778)
"I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts."
~Will Rogers (1879-1935)
"When I am abroad, I always make it a rule to never criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home."
~Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
1. What happens in North Korea might not stay in North Korea
2. Why South Korea Doesn't Believe America Will Uphold Its Alliance Agreement
3. The United States and South Korea Are Unprepared for Real Burden-Sharing Negotiations
4. More than 90 infections linked to Seoul call center, numbers feared to rise
5. Harris praises S. Korea's anti-coronavirus airport screening as 'exemplar around the world'
6. Could North Korea's information blackout be hiding a serious crisis?
7. S. Korea forced to postpone joint trainings with foreign troops over coronavirus concerns
8. Will North Korea Accept the Help It Needs to Fight the Coronavirus?
9. Coronavirus: South Korea's infection rate falls without citywide lockdowns like China, Italy
10. North Korea health chiefs face 'purge' by Kim as coronavirus overwhelms regime
11. Can South Korea be a model for coronavirus-hit countries?
12. Chart Shows How Far Behind The US Is Falling When It Comes to Coronavirus Testing
13. South Korea's exports surge in early March
14. Changing the Constitution: Some South Korean Lawmakers Surreptitiously Propose to Change the Constitution if 2% of the Population Agree
15. OHCHR | Statement by Michelle Bachelet United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (north Korea)
16. UN's Bachelet alleges sex abuse in North Korea detention centres
17. North Korean government may be guilty of crimes against humanity: UN official
1. What happens in North Korea might not stay in North Korea
Implosion and explosion. But north Korea may be down but not out according to the author. I concur. We underestimate or ignore the situation in north Korea at our peril.
Conclusion:
At the same time, while the hermit kingdom understandably appears to be turning inward, it may also feel compelled to lash out internationally - both to project an image of strength and to provide a useful domestic distraction from its coronavirus crackdown. North Korea may be down, but it is not out, and the international community should continue to observe it with caution.
Despite the challenges involved, the international community, led by the U.S., should also be alert for any opening to provide North Korea with assistance in contending with the COVID-19 outbreak. This could help keep channels of communication open with Pyongyang and mitigate the possibility that an unchecked North Korean coronavirus outbreak could spill over and pose a further threat to global health.
What happens in North Korea might not stay in North Korea | The Japan Times
WASHINGTON - The world has long been focusing on the threat to international peace and security posed by North Korea's missile and weapons of mass destruction programs, in particular its development of nuclear weapons. The threat posed by Pyongyang's increasing reliance on cybercrime and blockchain exploitation has also rightly drawn global attention and concern.
The COVID-19 epidemic, however, presents a new and invidious threat that has the potential to emanate from North Korea and threaten global security. Given its proximity to countries with major outbreaks of the new coronavirus, its virtually nonexistent medical infrastructure outside Pyongyang, and its political culture of secrecy and deception, North Korea represents a human petri dish that could prove a source for major international infections.
Ironically, repeated missile tests by North Korea have seemingly desensitized world opinion, despite multiple violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Recent photos of Kim Jong Un published in the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers Party, showing him viewing a missile launch, have drawn attention primarily because the senior military officials accompanying him were wearing black face masks. This image, strangely evocative of Hollywood Western movie portrayals of villains, demonstrated strikingly how North Korea is taking extreme precautions to contend with the COVID-19 infections.
Despite North Korea's official statements that there have been zero cases of COVID-19 infections within its borders, such assurances fly in the face of reality, given the dramatic and tragic coronavirus outbreaks in neighboring countries, particularly China - Ground Zero for the epidemic. North Korea shares a long and, in segments, highly porous border with China, which it depends on for 90 percent of its trade and, until recently, a flood of Chinese tourists - estimated conservatively at over 350,000 in 2019.
Moreover, numerous North Korean indentured workers in China - estimated at around 50,000 - were obliged by U.N. sanctions to return to North Korea at the end of 2019. It is highly dubious that all complied, given lax Chinese enforcement. That said, China has asserted that it is in full compliance with U.N. sanctions, and any workers returning to North Korea represent another potential source of contagion. Moreover, North Korean workers in China are reportedly not required to get a work permit if they stay under 90 days, compounding the potential contagion problem through frequent turnover.
An additional reason for skepticism about North Korea's claims about zero COVID-19 cases is the pattern of Pyongyang's public deception as to other outbreaks in the past. During the 2009 swine flu (H1N1) outbreak, Pyongyang initially denied that there were any cases within its borders, despite reports from international relief officials to the contrary.
Now, various South Korean media sources have reported numerous coronavirus cases in North Korea, with estimates running as high as hundreds dead and thousands more in quarantine, despite Pyongyang's insistent denial.
Irrespective of how far COVID-19 has advanced in North Korea up to this point, there is very real concern that an outbreak could not be contained. North Korea has little or no medical infrastructure or medical supplies anywhere in the country, particularly beyond Pyongyang. Some hospitals reportedly even lack water and electricity.
In fact, according to Johns Hopkins University's 2019 Global Health Security Index, North Korea was rated 193rd out of 195 countries globally - almost dead last - in preparedness for managing outbreak of a disease. North Korea basically pulled zeroes in terms of biosecurity, biosafety, emergency preparedness and response planning, exercising response plans, emergency response operations, risk communication, medical countermeasures and personnel deployment, infection control practices and availability of equipment.
In practice, this means North Korea largely lacks the health infrastructure even to test those potentially infected, let alone treat them. A new coronavirus outbreak in North Korea would quickly spread. Moreover, the generally weakened health and malnourishment of most of the North Korean people would render most susceptible to COVID-19 contagion, with dire consequences.
It is clear that Pyongyang is at least aware of the new coronavirus contagion risks it faces given both its dependency on China and its appalling medical infrastructure, prompting a draconian response by the North Korean leadership. Pyongyang declared a national emergency and closed its 1,400 km border with China (and its 17 km border with Russia). North Korean official media stated that roughly 3,000 people in North Pyongan province, which borders China, are being monitoring in case they display possible coronavirus symptoms.
According to the North's Korean Central News Agency, North Korean officials are also educating North Korean residents along the Chinese border in the west about COVID-19 preventive measures and sending medicine and disinfectants to the region.
Pyongyang meanwhile shut down flights and railway transport from China and Russia, curtailed foreign tourism, and canceled both the annual parade in honor of North Korea's military as well as the annual Pyongyang Marathon, with its many international participants. North Korea is quarantining for 30 days all foreigners entering the country - more than twice the new coronavirus incubation period - and strengthening customs measures, including by isolating all foreign goods being imported for 10 days. The North has imposed restrictions even on international aid workers and health agencies that are there to help, and has quarantined nearly 400 international workers, including diplomats.
The net result has effectively been de facto self-sanctioning by the North Korean regime. Severing physical and economic ties with China, on which North Korea is so economically dependent, is no doubt dealing a severe blow to the official North Korean economy. The impact can only be similarly grave for North Korea's "gray economy" in the form of cross-border traders and outright smugglers, and the private markets that Pyongyang has allowed to blossom under Kim's regime.
Not only that, North Korea's plans to step up its hard currency earnings from Chinese tourists - not subject to international sanctions - appear to be in the deep freeze. For example, the mountain spa and ski resort in Samjiyon and the beach resort being developed at Wonsan, which have been aimed at attracting Chinese tourists, have apparently been slammed by Pyongyang's stringent anti-coronavirus measures.
From the perspective of the international community, North Korea's COVID-19 containment effort has had the effect of tightening sanctions vis-a-vis China more effectively than could otherwise have been imagined. The effective stranglehold North Korea is placing on its own lifeline to China cannot help but put severe strain on the North Korean economy.
At first blush, this should strengthen the hand of the United States and its allies, as international sanctions relief should be even more vital to the North. However, the leverage afforded may be less than meets the eye. Even if North Korea were to decide today to dismantle its nuclear program and meet all conditions necessary for lifting the sanctions, the effectiveness of sanctions relief would be circumscribed by what are, after all, Pyongyang's self-imposed restrictive measures. And it is unclear whether South Korea or Japan, grappling with their own COVID-19 problems, would be focused on providing assistance to North Korea at this juncture.
At the same time, while the hermit kingdom understandably appears to be turning inward, it may also feel compelled to lash out internationally - both to project an image of strength and to provide a useful domestic distraction from its coronavirus crackdown. North Korea may be down, but it is not out, and the international community should continue to observe it with caution.
Despite the challenges involved, the international community, led by the U.S., should also be alert for any opening to provide North Korea with assistance in contending with the COVID-19 outbreak. This could help keep channels of communication open with Pyongyang and mitigate the possibility that an unchecked North Korean coronavirus outbreak could spill over and pose a further threat to global health.
Thomas Cynkin is a former U.S. charge d'affaires to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He is vice president of the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security.
2. Why South Korea Doesn't Believe America Will Uphold Its Alliance Agreement
Yes, this seems like a clickbait headline and yes there is substantive criticism of the alliance (on both sides not just the US). This co-authored by a serving ROK Naval Officer which I think is a very positive statement. But most important the authors have made some very substantive and practical recommendations for the ROK and US to improve the alliance. This is worth pondering.
Why South Korea Doesn't Believe America Will Uphold Its Alliance Agreement
Seoul's concerns are driven by President Donald Trump's track-record of skepticism toward U.S. commitments abroad.
In recent years, the U.S. alliance with the Republic of Korea (ROK) has faced considerable pressure. The Trump administration is
insisting that the ROK bolster its host-nation support for U.S. forces, demanding a five-fold increase in the ROK's contribution much to the chagrin of Seoul. The Moon administration, meanwhile, has prompted
concern in Washington due to its repeated diplomatic
spats with Japan, the United States' other key Northeast Asian ally.
In addition to these recent disputes, several broad strategic challenges have placed a strain on the long-standing ROK-US alliance. The ROK government worries about
whether the United States is committed to defending it against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which shares a border with i. The ROK's concerns are driven by President Donald Trump's
track-record of
skepticismtoward U.S. commitments abroad. Just as significantly, the DPRK has moved closer to a nuclear arsenal capable of striking the U.S. homeland, leading to concerns about
decoupling.
Others in the ROK argue that the alliance
impedes President Moon Jae-in's diplomatic engagement with the DPRK. The Trump administration is understandably
skeptical about Moon's
attempts to improve ties with the DPRK. President Trump's pursuit of independent negotiations with the DPRK also has the potential to undercut the ROK's efforts to improve inter-Korean relations. As some in the ROK have noted, this allows the DPRK to
bypass the ROK in favor of direct talks with the United States.
The United States also has concerns about the current trajectory of its alliance with the ROK. Washington has
longsought greater cooperation from Seoul in maintaining Asia-Pacific security. The Trump administration has shown great interest in recruiting the ROK for its "
free and open Indo-Pacific" strategy. Yet, despite the ROK's clear interest in a secure region, Seoul has been reluctant to expand its cooperation with the US beyond the Korean Peninsula. This hesitancy
derives in part from the ROK's concern about antagonizing China, the ROK's
leading economic partner.
The United States and ROK cannot afford to ignore these emerging rifts in their alliance. Some analysts have argued that these strains are
problematic enough to merit a
reassessment of the ROK-US alliance. We argue, however, that these obstacles can be addressed by strengthening the ROK-US alliance rather than downgrading it. Both allies can benefit from reciprocal measures designed to address one another's concerns.
The United States can pursue a range of initiatives to reassure the ROK of its continued commitment to the alliance. It should begin by abandoning its excessive demands for increased ROK host-nation support, demonstrating to the ROK that the United States' interest in the alliance is strategic rather than transactional. Furthermore, the United States would be well-served to reverse its unilateral decision to
scale back large military exercises with the ROK; these exercises serve as an important signal of U.S. resolve to help defend the ROK and bolster the alliance's deterrent by maintaining military readiness and interoperability. The United States can also offer to
incorporate the ROK more closely into its planning and preparation for nuclear operations to reassure Seoul about the credibility of the United States' extended nuclear deterrent. Additionally, the United States should work closely with the ROK to develop contingency plans to deter DPRK aggression across the entire spectrum of conflict, including limited
gray-zone aggression. Greater flexibility and a wider array of options will render the U.S. commitment to its alliance with the ROK more credible. Finally, to offset the DPRK's growing ability to hold the U.S. homeland at risk, the United States could invest more in its
missile defense capabilities, particularly Ground-Based Defense missiles. Again, this investment would further reassure Seoul that Washington will defend it against DPRK aggression.
At the same time, the United States can alleviate the ROK government's concerns about the way that it's undermining the ROK's engagement strategy toward the DPRK. In particular, the United States needs to insist that its talks with the DPRK include the ROK government and it should maintain a unified position with the ROK during these negotiations. U.S. policymakers could also express greater support for Moon's attempts to repair ROK-DPRK relations. Overall, these steps will emphasize to the ROK that the United States stands behind its efforts to simultaneously deter and engage the DPRK. If the United States makes a greater effort to shore up its ally's security on the Korean Peninsula, then the ROK will be better positioned to coordinate with Washington to promote security in the Asia-Pacific writ large.
The ROK can address U.S. concerns about the regional role of the alliance in several ways. In particular, the ROK can strengthen its "New Southern Policy" while gradually expanding its involvement in the United States' "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" strategy (building on Moon's recent
endorsement of this initiative). Diplomatically, the ROK could express greater support for key principles undergirding regional stability and security, such as freedom of navigation, peaceful resolution of disputes, and open and transparent economic agreements. Economically, the ROK would be well-served to coordinate with the United States in providing much-needed infrastructure investment throughout the region, particularly in Southeast Asia, which serves to bolster both economic interconnectivity and openness. For instance, the ROK could join in the
Japan-US Strategic Energy Partnership (JUSEP) designed to increase high-quality investment in energy infrastructure throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Seoul should also expand its contributions to maritime capacity-building initiatives throughout Southeast Asia in coordination with Washington. Specifically, the ROK can bolster its funding, training, and joint exercises with Southeast Asian states to improve the ability of these states to manage emerging threats to regional maritime security. Additionally, Seoul should consider joining the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a forum developed by the United States, Australia, Japan, and India to discuss Asia-Pacific security.
The ROK could also bolster its ability to contribute militarily to regional security and openness. In particular, the ROK would be well-served to double-down on its
plans to develop a
blue-water navy capable of operating throughout the Indo-Pacific. A blue-water navy would enhance the ROK's ability to work with the United States and other partners in sea lane protection, counter-piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and other similar operations across Asia's maritime commons. Finally, the ROK might explore new arrangements with the US to provide greater logistical support for U.S. operations to promote security beyond the Korean Peninsula. Doing so will highlight to the United States that the ROK, like Japan, Australia, and other partners, is willing to join hands with the United States in maintaining the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific and addressing transnational risks like piracy, terrorism, and natural disasters. Overall, the ROK can encourage the United States to double-down on its commitment to ROK security on the Korean Peninsula by undertaking these reciprocal efforts to promote U.S. interests in a more secure Asia-Pacific region.
There are obstacles to these proposed policy initiatives. Both states face budgetary constraints and a host of other policy challenges. Both administrations are also preoccupied with
upcomingelections. Finally, attempts by either ally to upgrade their alliance are likely to be met with resistance from China. Nevertheless, despite the obstacles, both states stand to gain from an amplified ROK-U.S. alliance. Reciprocal cooperation and compromise will help solidify the alliance in the coming decade.
Jihoon Yu is a lieutenant commander in the ROK Navy working on naval strategy and force development at the ROK Navy HQ.
Erik French is an assistant professor of international studies at the College at Brockport.
Image: Reuters
3. The United States and South Korea Are Unprepared for Real Burden-Sharing Negotiations
I can see Ambassador Hwang in his best Jack Nicholson voice saying to the ROK and US: "You can't handle the truth."
Wise words here. I fear this will not alter the mind of the only person that matters: POTUS.
Both parties should remember that this is a negotiation between allies, not competitors. In this context, two things in particular should be avoided: brinkmanship and a zero-sum mentality. The ROK government should be mindful that using brinkmanship tactics for alliance matters is risky. The U.S. government should be more prudent and not apply a zero-sum mentality to money-related negotiations. In this regard, the U.S. chief negotiator's comment: "So for me that is the most important question: What reduces the burden to our taxpayer?" was inappropriate.
I do not know if there is a "formal review" but in my discussions with Korean counterparts there is certainly a focus on the viability and future of the ROK/US alliance. Both ROK and US government leaders need to consider whether our alliance will continue to be based on shared interests, shared values, and shared strategy.
A review of the U.S.-ROK alliance is now underway among Korean pundits and opinion leaders amid North Korean nuclear and missile advancement, decreasing credibility of U.S. nuclear umbrella, and growing U.S. demands for financial contributions from allies and partners. The present circumstances have triggered debate in South Korea over how to reduce dependence on the United States and whether and how to engineer its own nuclear armament. The transition of operational control on the peninsula and INF Treaty developments make this debate both more relevant and more complex.
2020 may prove to be a critical year for the U.S.-ROK alliance.
The United States and South Korea Are Unprepared for Real Burden-Sharing Negotiations
This post is authored by Hwang Joonkook, former ROK ambassador to the United Kingdom. It is part of a project conducted by the program on U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation and Korea Foundation. This series of posts will address the transition of operational control (OPCON) on the Korean Peninsula. To further stimulate an open discussion of these issues, we would like to invite reader responses. Please contact Ellen Swicord at eswicord@cfr.org for submission guidelines if you are interested in contributing a response.
Problems with Current Burden-Sharing Negotiations
Although the United States and Republic of Korea (ROK) have made a little progress on Special Measures Agreement (SMA) negotiations, both appear unprepared for real negotiations. The basic positions of the two countries remain quite different: the United States wants a negotiated agreement to reflect the total costs associated with ROK defense beyond the existing SMA, including transportation, training, and equipment for United States Forces Korea (USFK), while the ROK seeks to retain the current SMA framework that deals with only three categories: labor costs for Korean workers in USFK, logistics costs, and construction for USFK.
The United States points out that a broad set of costs are not captured within the current SMA, including all rotations of U.S. military personnel to the peninsula and temporary deployments, who each must be trained, equipped, and transported between the United States, South Korea, and elsewhere in Asia.
The ROK position has gone over well with domestic audiences, but is almost a non-starter for 'real' negotiations. The confusing U.S. presentation of its position is equally problematic. In December 2019 the U.S. chief negotiator
said publicly in Seoul that, "As parties to the agreement, we can change the agreement if we agree to do it together. So, the SMA agreement has been updated and changed through the years." This explanation, along with the U.S. characterization of its stance as seeking an extension of the previous SMA, is misleading because "SMA" is not just an abbreviation for "Special Measures Agreement,"but for the Special Measures Agreement relating to Article 5 of the Facilities and Areas and the Status of United States Armed Forces in Korea (SOFA) agreement. Article 5 of SOFA deals only with "facilities and areas" for USFK. The U.S. explanation of its position disregards the fact that in order to seek costs beyond "facilities and areas," such as training, equipment, and transportation, the United States would need to acknowledge that the current negotiations are inconsistent with the original spirit of the SMA. This discrepancy gives the ROK government maneuvering room in legal and procedural matters related to burden-sharing negotiations.
The United States should be more straightforward and clearly assert that 'new' U.S. demands require a negotiating track separate from the existing SMA discussions and necessitate a 'new political decision' by the ROK government. Furthermore, the United States should bear in mind that the U.S.-ROK 'total sum-based' SMA arrangement (often posited against the U.S.-Japan 'need-based arrangement') has long been criticized as lacking transparency in the National Assembly ratification process and has been taken advantage of by leftist radical groups to fuel anti-American sentiment in Korea. Because it demands 'new' items beyond the three existing SMA categories, the United States should move away from past practices of negotiating a total sum without submitting a detailed statement or breakdown of costs. The U.S. government should also be more reasonable and flexible in considering the transition to a 'need-based arrangement.'
The ROK should also be more resilient and compromise on the creation of new categories outside of the current SMA framework. In the thirty years since the first U.S.-ROK SMA, everything has changed, including U.S. relative power, the ROK economy, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. A Korean proverb says, "Even mountains and rivers change in ten years." There is no convincing logic in maintaining that the SMA cannot change. The ROK bottom line should be that it is willing to accept 'reasonable' cost-sharing if new categories properly relate to ROK defense.
Both parties should remember that this is a negotiation between allies, not competitors. In this context, two things in particular should be avoided: brinkmanship and a zero-sum mentality. The ROK government should be mindful that using brinkmanship tactics for alliance matters is risky. The U.S. government should be more prudent and not apply a zero-sum mentality to money-related negotiations. In this regard, the U.S. chief negotiator's
comment: "So for me that is the most important question: What reduces the burden to our taxpayer?" was inappropriate.
Implications for the Alliance
Exorbitant U.S. demands for increased ROK contributions to mutual defense at an unusual time of national division over the ROK's diplomatic orientation intensify and embolden anti-American and pro-North Korea/China elements in South Korea. This represents a nightmare scenario for Korean conservatives, who are struggling to sustain a strong U.S.-ROK alliance in these challenging times.
America's image and reputation in South Korea are vital in the context of U.S.-China strategic competition surrounding the Korean Peninsula. U.S.-China competition is quite different from U.S.-Soviet confrontation, and the United States should manage its reputation more skillfully.
A review of the U.S.-ROK alliance is now underway among Korean pundits and opinion leaders amid North Korean nuclear and missile advancement, decreasing credibility of U.S. nuclear umbrella, and growing U.S. demands for financial contributions from allies and partners. The present circumstances have triggered debate in South Korea over how to reduce dependence on the United States and whether and how to engineer its own nuclear armament. The transition of operational control on the peninsula and INF Treaty developments make this debate both more relevant and more complex.
2020 may prove to be a critical year for the U.S.-ROK alliance.
4. More than 90 infections linked to Seoul call center, numbers feared to rise
(4th LD) More than 90 infections linked to Seoul call center, numbers feared to rise | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: ADDS details in paras 4, 9-14, 17, photo, minor edits)
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- A total of 93 cases of coronavirus infection were found to be linked to a call center in southwestern Seoul, the capital's mayor said Wednesday, spawning concerns about potential mass transmission in the metropolitan area that is home to 25 million people.
"Based on a screening of 207 employees working at a call center on the 11th floor of the Korea Building, 93 cases have been confirmed. The figure includes family members of the call center employees," Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said in a press briefing.
A total of 553 call center employees who work on the seventh to ninth floors of the building in the Sindorim neighborhood are being screened, he said, adding that no additional cases have been found outside of the 11th floor.
Sindorim is one of the busiest neighborhoods in southwestern Seoul, with subway lines No. 1 and 2 that connect Seoul to nearby Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, as well as Gangnam in southern Seoul, passing through.
Among the cases, Seoul accounted for the highest number of infections with 65 patients, followed by 15 in Incheon, west of Seoul, and 13 in Gyeonggi Province, according to Park.
The call center infection is so far the biggest COVID-19 infection cluster in Seoul, which is home to 10 million people. When including the nearby Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, the case poses a potential risk to the wider metropolitan area's population of 25 million.
"Seoul city will make sure to respond in a certain and meticulous manner, so that the call center group transmission will not develop into the cases seen in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province," Park said, referring to the southeastern regions that have been pounded by infections related to the minor religious sect Shincheonji.
Commercial and office spaces on the first to 12th floors of the building, which include a wedding hall and a Starbucks franchise, have been shut down, while the city government is closely monitoring residents who live on the 13th to 19th floors of the building, he said.
The health ministry, meanwhile, said that five of the 207 workers were found to be followers of Shincheonji, which is associated with more than 60 percent of South Korea's total infections.
All five have so far tested negative, but the government plans to look into the case for additional infections. The city government also said it will probe for any possible links to the religious sect.
Group transmissions, which account for 80 percent of all infections reported in South Korea, are deemed to be one of the biggest risks in the country's fight against the new coronavirus.
While the government has closed down schools and urged companies to use flexible working hours and remote working, infections have occurred in minor clusters in hospitals, religious services and even Zumba classes.
On Wednesday, the government again urged companies to distance proximity at workplaces and encourage employees to work from home after call center workers were found to have worked in a packed office, without wearing masks.
The Seoul city government also said it plans to monitor around 400 call centers in the capital and asked owners of karaokes, clubs and "PC bangs," or internet cafes, to suspend their business, if possible.
According to government figures from midnight Tuesday, South Korea has reported 7,755 infections since its first confirmed case on Jan. 20.
Cases in Seoul sharply jumped to 193, up 52 from the previous day, according to the data by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Separate data by the city government showed there were 205 cases in Seoul as of 10 a.m.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
5. Harris praises S. Korea's anti-coronavirus airport screening as 'exemplar around the world'
Yes and it is more than just airport screenings that makes the ROK an exemplar as the embassy notes:
The embassy said it remains "confident in the South Korean government's robust and comprehensive response efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19."
"We maintain close contact with partners at the KCDC, USFK and relevant U.S. Government agencies. Such strong international cooperation is what will defeat this disease," it said. KCDC refers to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(LEAD) Harris praises S. Korea's anti-coronavirus airport screening as 'exemplar around the world' | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: ADDS ambassador's comment and other details in paras 3-5)
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris visited Incheon International Airport on Wednesday to see how fever checks on U.S.-bound passengers are going, praising the process as "the exemplar around the world."
Harris visited a boarding gate in the Second Terminal of the airport, west of Seoul, and observed officials taking the temperatures of passengers of an Atlanta-bound Korean Air plane and received a briefing about the screening process.
"I appreciate the hard work that (airport staff are) doing for all of us, really, not just Americans, but everyone, as Korea works to limit the spread of COVID worldwide," he was quoted as saying by the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.
"The Korean model is held up as the exemplar around the world," he said.
The ambassador said in a Twitter post later, "Terrific visit to Incheon Airport to see 1st-hand ROKG measures to combat COVID-19 & mgmt of travelers to USA. Impressed w/ROK's robust & comprehensive response efforts to limit the virus' spread. Thanks to all for the hard work."
The embassy said it remains "confident in the South Korean government's robust and comprehensive response efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19."
"We maintain close contact with partners at the KCDC, USFK and relevant U.S. Government agencies. Such strong international cooperation is what will defeat this disease," it said. KCDC refers to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Tuesday, the government said it will take over the anti-coronavirus screening mission from airlines and conduct health examinations on passengers boarding flights to the U.S. from the Incheon airport and Gimhae International Airport in the southeastern city of Busan.
The U.S. government has been urging its citizens to reconsider travel to Korea under an elevated travel advisory due to the virus fears, with its health authorities recommending that Americans avoid all nonessential travel here.
Seoul officials have said that the stepped-up quarantine efforts are aimed at preventing any possible outflow of the virus from Korea.
The government said earlier three quarantine facilities will be set up in Incheon and one in Gimhae, and more than 40 quarantine officials to be dispatched to the airports.
Passengers were to undergo fever checks and fill out health questionnaires. If they have a fever of 37.5 C or higher, they will be sent home. They will be quarantined immediately if they test positive for the virus.
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
6. Could North Korea's information blackout be hiding a serious crisis?
I think the answer to the headline question is most definitely yes. So the questions are if so, what will be the effects internally and externally and then what actions are we prepared to take based on those effects?
Excerpts:
"I am 100% sure that North Korea has infected patients," said Nam Sung-Wook, a researcher at the Korean University in Seoul and president of the country's National Institute for Strategic Security,
Zhan Jun, the Chinese ambassador to the UN, told reporters that North Korea "suffers negatively" from coronavirus, without offering precisions.
Could North Korea's information blackout be hiding a serious crisis?
Has coronavirus reached North Korea yet? It's hard to know.
Unsurprisingly, the most secretive nation in the world has locked down all information except the regime's official version, and foreigners have been quarantined at home since early February.
According to experts, North Korea's isolation in the face of the coronavirus outbreak is its only protection. That's because the country's weak health system would struggle to contain an epidemic, they say.
"If the illness spreads, the North Korean system will be powerless", said Choi Jung-hun, a doctor who lived in North Korea before defecting to South Korea in 2012. "It will be uncontrollable."
North Korean hospitals have irregular access to water and electricity and suffer from chronic shortages of medicine.
North Korea was ranked 193 out of 195 countries in the World Sanitary Index 2019 from John Hopkins University, ahead of only Somalia and Equatorial Guinea.
Tens of thousands of people cross North Korea's porous Chinese border, which is 1,450 km long, to go to work in China each day. A substantial amount of trafficking also takes place on both sides of the border.
In December, at the start of the outbreak in Wuhan, the UN requested that China sends North Korean workers back home, but it's impossible to know how many went back to their country.
On top of this, 43% of the North Korean population suffers from malnutrition and many do not have access to drinkable water or sanitary facilities, said Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea.
"Combined with a limited access to information, this makes them even more vulnerable to coronavirus", he said.
Newspapers call for prudence
Pyongyang authorities say the situation is under control. The official newspaper Rodong Sinmun published last Friday an article that "fortunately, the new coronavirus infection has not entered our country".
The newspaper also asked its readers for "absolute obedience" to sanitary authorities, and a few days ago warned that only one coronavirus case could have "disastrous consequences" in North Korea. It has also published calls to prudence such as avoiding public gatherings, including in restaurants.
Last week, North Korea's state news agency published two photos supposedly showing the regime's control over the virus. The first one depicted supermarket workers cleaning the premises and controlling the clients' temperature, while the second showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervising the firing of an unidentified projectile. The leader wore no mask on the photo, but his aides did.
Expert '100% sure' North Korea is infected
Despite this, experts doubt North Korea's claims that it counts zero coronavirus cases. The World Health Organisation has not refuted such claims, but some South Korean media have reported infections in the North.
"I am 100% sure that North Korea has infected patients," said Nam Sung-Wook, a researcher at the Korean University in Seoul and president of the country's National Institute for Strategic Security,
Zhan Jun, the Chinese ambassador to the UN, told reporters that North Korea "suffers negatively" from coronavirus, without offering precisions.
"The fact that we know nothing about North Korea's level of infection and death rate from the virus is extremely problematic and if this doesn't change, it could have important consequences on public health," wrote Jessica Lee, East Asia expert at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, an American think tank.
Exceptional measures
As the virus outbreak spread across the world in February, North Korea rapidly took protection measures, shutting its borders, suspending trains and planes, cancelling the Pyongyang marathon and closing schools.
People suspected to have contracted the virus were quarantined for 30 days, and all foreigners were, too.
Some economic sanctions on North Korea have also been lifted or softened by the international community. The UN Security Council has allowed humanitarian exemptions: "The coronavirus was discussed and the sanctions committee has immediately received permission to authorise the export of equipment" to fight the virus, the German ambassador to the UN, Christoph Heusgen, told AFP.
The international federation of the Red Cross has been authorised to ship medical equipment to North Korea. The Russian Foreign affairs minister, Sergey Lavrov, has said that Russia has also sent 1,500 virus detection kits to North Korea.
7. S. Korea forced to postpone joint trainings with foreign troops over coronavirus concerns
Buried lede: The ROK military trains with more than just the US. military on the peninsula.
And this is important: 32 ROK military personnel are infected.
As of Tuesday, South Korea had 7,513 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, including 54 deaths. In the military, 32 active-duty service personnel and five civilian workers have been confirmed to have the virus.
S. Korea forced to postpone joint trainings with foreign troops over coronavirus concerns | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- A series of planned combined trainings between South Korean and foreign troops will be postponed due to the continued worldwide spread of the new coronavirus, officials said Tuesday.
Around 50 service members of the Army were supposed to visit the U.S.' Fort Irwin National Training Center later this month to observe trainings there, but the deployment has been put off at the request of the U.S. military, according to the officials.
"Other similar training sessions are scheduled for later this year, and we will make a decision regarding this matter in close consultation with the U.S.," an Army officer said.
The Army had also planned to stage a joint counter-terrorism drill with Mongolia in the central Asian country around the end of April, but Mongolia asked for postponement.
"The two sides will rearrange the plan in consideration of how things go down the road," he added.
The Navy was scheduled to take part in the multilateral "Milan 2020" exercise led by India, but the host nation has postponed the program due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to foreign media and military officers here.
The exercise, one of the biggest maritime exercises among navies of major countries, was initially to be held from March 18 to 28 involving around 30 countries, including the U.S., Russia, and Britain.
Other trainings planned to be staged in South Korea have also be postponed, according to the officials.
South Korea and the U.S. also decided to postpone the Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP) between their Marine Corps slated for later this month, and the exact schedule is yet to be fixed, they added.
The allies' Navies also agreed to reschedule their combined drills set to take place this month.
Late last month, Seoul and Washington announced their decision to postpone their springtime joint military exercises indefinitely to guarantee the safety of their service members and to prioritize containment efforts for the virus.
As of Tuesday, South Korea had 7,513 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, including 54 deaths. In the military, 32 active-duty service personnel and five civilian workers have been confirmed to have the virus.
Across the globe, more than 110 countries have reported over 114,000 patients combined, including more than 4,000 deaths. China, where the virus is believed to have originated, has reported around 80,700 patients, followed by Italy with 9,172 cases. The U.S. has recorded more than 700 confirmed cases.
graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)
8. Will North Korea Accept the Help It Needs to Fight the Coronavirus?
Excerpts:
To be fair, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCHA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) already conduct satellite analyses, but an integrated workforce dedicated to satellite analysis will be more effective than separate experts that happen to know how to interpret images. Infrastructure for a central clearing agency will help improve the continuity, integration, neutrality, and depth of knowledge regarding satellite imagery analysis and humanitarian aid.
That being said, technology will never be a panacea for aid or public health. Excessive reliance on one type of technology can lead to lapses in judgement. For instance, the intelligence community during the Reagan administration was confident that rebels in Nicaragua had a significant military build up of fighter jets. Yet no evidence ever emerged to support these claims. False alarms in the field of public health can also cause mass hysteria or even reduce the credibility of experts. This is why experts should double check images with other technologies or sources of information.
The policy outcome from each focus-that of humanitarian aid workers and human rights advocates-can sometimes seem diametrically opposed. An analysis focused on North Korea's domestic public health situation can produce the recommendation of delivering medical aid to North Korea in the form of vaccines and disinfection support. A more international outlook with a larger focus on the government's role in the public health situation can also lead to medical aid but also lay more blame at Pyongyang's feet. Likely criticisms include the government's unwillingness to take sufficient preventative measures or prioritize citizens' health. Furthermore, policies along this line can isolate North Korea from the international community in the form of travel bans, reduction of trade (whether it be voluntary in the case of the Coronavirus or imposed by neighboring countries), and even economic sanctions if human rights violations are observed.
At the same time, one could argue that the slightly different points of emphasis by the two communities lead to a more comprehensive coverage of the public health situation in North Korea. Public health concerns such as MDR-TB and the Coronavirus present unique opportunities for the two communities to cooperate. Sharing information can be an easy way to form a better mutual understanding of each other's viewpoints and take another step towards professionalization and away from politicization.
Will North Korea Accept the Help It Needs to Fight the Coronavirus?
As an isolated country, North Korea has many de-facto barriers from the world. The problem is that such isolated populations can not only spread diseases, but also be infected by the outside world. North Korea's current prevalence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has the potential of wreaking havoc all around the world, analogous to the disease curtain seen in Africa during colonial times. Now with the Coronavirus outbreak, North Korea is once again vulnerable to disease strains it has not been exposed to. In fact, these ongoing vulnerabilities calls to mind the terrible wipe-out of entire indigenous populations by diseases spread by colonial powers in the past.
In light of public health concerns like the Coronavirus, two expert communities working on North Korea have incentives to analyze North Korea's public health situation in slightly different ways. The first group of experts working on humanitarian aid is more likely to focus on easing the suffering of diseases such as the Coronavirus or MDR-TB from a domestic perspective. The second group of experts working on human rights is more likely to focus on the government's role in the suffering with a more international perspective. These slight differences in interpreting North Korea's public health situation can help inform ways to best improve North Korea's conditions and prevent future political divides.
Aid organizations, especially those that look at North Korea's domestic level, are more likely to support disease treatment to decrease its prevalence inside the country. While aid workers must also care about the impact diseases have on neighboring countries, the ethics of humanitarianism emphasize alleviating human suffering as an inherent purpose. Meanwhile, a cynical view would also take into account the fact that aid workers expect to be physically inside the country only short-term because of aid delivery. Moreover, engagement-oriented workers expect to be in the country long-term in preparation of free trade and Korean reunification.
These aid organizations will be crucial to preventing any outbreaks of the virus. So far, the state has not reported any cases of Coronavirus; however, due to its proximity to the hotbeds of China and South Korea, outsiders are skeptical to whether that is true. Furthermore, the regime is unlikely to report any cases at this time because of the stigma of having infected citizens. So far, groups have been placed under quarantine, yet it is unknown if the state has the means to accurately test for the virus.
Some measures have already been taken by the state itself: borders have been closed off to the rest of the world, foreign nationals have been quarantined, and schools have been closed. Whether these measures are enough is questionable, as North Korea's medical infrastructure is severely underdeveloped. Many hospitals lack running water, electricity, and proper medicine. This issue is compounded as most of the health facilities are concentrated within the capital. Unprepared for this outbreak, North Korea has already contacted aid organizations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Doctors Without Borders, and the World Health Organization (Terry 2020).
Aid organizations focus on the domestic aspect of diseases because providing vaccines and improving people's health is the most immediate way of alleviating suffering. At least in the North Korean context, aid organizations cannot control the spread of disease in other ways such as by manning checkpoints that control human movement because such measures are not allowed. Similar to the World Food Program (WFP) supporting aid measures with food, aid organizations tend to focus on the domestic impact of problems because of their humanitarian mandate. As a result, these measures match the extent to which the recipient regime gives permission and more fundamentally perceives as in alignment with the state's interests.
Although aid organizations are aware of the international dynamics, the nature of their work prevents them from speaking out. (Scholars often highlight the dangers of diseases such as MDR-TB spreading to neighboring countries, including the United States. As the Coronavirus shows, the international spread of diseases has become more likely with easier air travel.) Practically, however, aid organizations that think internationally are mostly interested in gaining enough international funding to treat diseases inside a given country. While some organizations take international politics and advocacy into their own hands, the result is that they are barred from entering North Korea.
Human rights organizations also approach public health from a domestic perspective, but they frame the harmful effects as man-made human rights violations by the regime. For instance, advocates attribute public health issues such as malnutrition and diseases among political prisoners as caused by the regime. They blame Pyongyang for its policies of disproportionate distribution of food to its political elite and the denial of medical care to its political prisoners.
Furthermore, as human rights activists tend to focus on issues from a security and foreign policy perspective, advocates raise public health concerns of the possibility of North Korea intentionally weaponizing biological or chemical agents against its own population, especially its political prisoners. From the international level of analysis, these biochemical weapons are, understandably, worrisome because they are harder to detect, trace, and contain. Moreover, biochemical weapons are far less expensive to make than nuclear weapons and North Korea could have as many as ten biochemical warfare facilities. Human rights organizations have gathered witness evidence of North Korea weaponizing and intentionally harming the health of its own citizens, claiming these acts are a crime against humanity. Such biochemical agents can wreak havoc not only domestically, but also internationally if North Korea either intentionally or mistakenly releases them.
The underlying factor that leads to these differences between humanitarian aid workers and those who focus on human rights are the expected physical presence inside the country. Proponents of engagement have incentives to treat diseases inside the country because they, as aid workers, often personally enter North Korea or hope to enter eventually because of free trade or reunification.
Although not all humanitarian aid workers are proponents of engagement, aid workers that are still operating in North Korea generally have similar incentives while human rights activists do not. Whether the regime does not allow human rights activists to enter, or activists decide not to enter in the first place due to possible punishment, rights activists do not need to be in-country to do their work-they can work remotely through monitoring and interviews.
The policy recommendation from these insights is that humanitarian aid organizations should start embracing technologies that allow a safe physical distance such as satellite technology. Access to satellite technology has been broadened so that any policy community can easily access images for their work. Furthermore, satellite imagery remains a key instrument that allows human rights organizations to operate outside of a country. It must be acknowledged that the historical traditions of Cold War narratives have influenced the heavy association of satellite imagery with political and military objectives, but there is no reason satellite imagery cannot become a neutral technology. Humanitarian aid organizations can embrace this technology to look at different areas than rights organizations, and it has the potential to improve many people's lives. Adopting new technology can also help change outside influence and increase their legitimacy of evidence.
To be fair, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCHA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) already conduct satellite analyses, but an integrated workforce dedicated to satellite analysis will be more effective than separate experts that happen to know how to interpret images. Infrastructure for a central clearing agency will help improve the continuity, integration, neutrality, and depth of knowledge regarding satellite imagery analysis and humanitarian aid.
That being said, technology will never be a panacea for aid or public health. Excessive reliance on one type of technology can lead to lapses in judgement. For instance, the intelligence community during the Reagan administration was confident that rebels in Nicaragua had a significant military build up of fighter jets. Yet no evidence ever emerged to support these claims. False alarms in the field of public health can also cause mass hysteria or even reduce the credibility of experts. This is why experts should double check images with other technologies or sources of information.
The policy outcome from each focus-that of humanitarian aid workers and human rights advocates-can sometimes seem diametrically opposed. An analysis focused on North Korea's domestic public health situation can produce the recommendation of delivering medical aid to North Korea in the form of vaccines and disinfection support. A more international outlook with a larger focus on the government's role in the public health situation can also lead to medical aid but also lay more blame at Pyongyang's feet. Likely criticisms include the government's unwillingness to take sufficient preventative measures or prioritize citizens' health. Furthermore, policies along this line can isolate North Korea from the international community in the form of travel bans, reduction of trade (whether it be voluntary in the case of the Coronavirus or imposed by neighboring countries), and even economic sanctions if human rights violations are observed.
At the same time, one could argue that the slightly different points of emphasis by the two communities lead to a more comprehensive coverage of the public health situation in North Korea. Public health concerns such as MDR-TB and the Coronavirus present unique opportunities for the two communities to cooperate. Sharing information can be an easy way to form a better mutual understanding of each other's viewpoints and take another step towards professionalization and away from politicization.
Jessup Jong is a Policy Research Assistant at Harvard Medical School and an Aitchison Public Service Fellow in Government at Johns Hopkins University. David Baik studies International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Image: Reuters
9. Coronavirus: South Korea's infection rate falls without citywide lockdowns like China, Italy
Yes, we can learn a lot from our Korean ally. I wish US spokespeople would stop saying the US test is better than the Korean test. While we seemed to wait to perfect the "perfect test" perhaps we proved the old adage that "perfect is the enemy of good enough" (and of course it turned out some of our initial tests were defective).
Coronavirus: South Korea's infection rate falls without citywide lockdowns like China, Italy
South Korea had 7,513 Covid-19 cases as of Monday, with daily infections falling for a fourth consecutive day
Officials attribute the decrease to mass testing, improved public communication and the use of advanced technology
As of end-Monday, it had 7,513 cases and 54 deaths. The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said there was an increase of 131 cases from Sunday to Monday.
The country averaged more than 500 new infections a day for the past two weeks, but last Friday, this number dipped to 438, then 367 on Saturday and 248 on Sunday. The daily number of confirmed cases is reported the following day.
A long queue forms outside a store in Seoul to buy face masks that are in effect being rationed to cope with shortages amid the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Park Chan-kyong
on Monday noted his country's "slowing trend" of new infections but warned: "We should not be complacent at all."
His point was underscored by the KCDC, which said that among the new patients were more than 60 people who were infected while working in close proximity to each other at an insurance company call centre.
"The total number of new confirmed cases is on a downturn but there are concerns over such mass infection cases", said KCDC Deputy Director Kwon Jun-wook.
The steady decrease in cases has been attributed to a variety of factors, including mass testing, improved public communications and the use of technology. Extensive testing of members of the
, which was linked to more than 60 per cent of the country's cases, has been completed.
South Korean officials have shared their experiences in containing the outbreak, saying that citywide lockdowns, as imposed by China in Wuhan, where the outbreak originated, are difficult to enforce in an open society.
China also introduced strict social distancing and extensive monitoring of citizens and ensured their adherence to preventive measures with punishment and rewards, resulting in a significant drop in the number of new cases.
"Without harming the principle of a transparent and open society, we recommend a response system that blends voluntary public participation with creative applications of advanced technology," South Korea's Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told journalists.
Conventional and coercive measures such as lockdowns of affected areas have drawbacks, he said, undermining the spirit of democracy and alienating the public who should participate actively in preventive efforts.
"Public participation must be secured through openness and transparency," he said.
South Korea has been proactive in providing its citizens with information needed to stay safe, including twice daily media briefings and emergency alerts sent by mobile phone to those living or working in districts where new cases have been confirmed. Details about the travel histories of confirmed patients are also available on municipal websites, sometimes with breakdowns of a patient's residence or employer, which can make them identifiable individually, leading to concerns about privacy.
The importance of maintaining good hygiene has also been stressed. South Koreans seldom leave their homes without wearing a face mask, with many buildings putting up signs reading "No Masks, No Entry". Restaurant workers and retail staff wear masks while serving customers.
"I don't like to wear a mask as I have to smell my own breath. I didn't bother to wear as usual when I sneezed couple of times in the metro. Then other commuters frowned on me and stepped away from me. At that time, I decided to follow the trend and wear a mask," said Min Gyeong-wook, a 35-year-old company employee.
South Korea has also come up with creative measures, including about 50 drive-through testing stations across the country, where it takes only 10 minutes to go through the whole procedure. Test results are available within hours.
Cars wait in line at a drive-through Covid-19 testing centre at Yeungnam University Medical Centre in Daegu, South Korea. Photo: EPA-EFE
Covid-19 tests are prohibitively expensive in many countries but in South Korea, all tests are free. The country is also capable of processing up to 15,000 diagnostic tests a day, and the aggregate number of tests has reached almost 200,000.
This testing capability has enabled the country to identify patients early and minimise the harmful effects, health experts say. But this also led to South Korea having the second largest number of confirmed infections in the world after China, although this was superseded by
South Korea has established "special immigration procedures" to monitor arrivals for two weeks without having to ban inbound travellers from entering the country.
There are not many countries in the world like South Korea that have both brains and product facilities needed for coping with virus outbreaksHwang Seung-sik, Seoul National University
Those arriving from China, including Hong Kong and Macau but excluding Taiwan, have their body temperature checked, while their domestic contact information is verified and they are required to fill in a health questionnaire. They are also asked to download a self-diagnosis app on their mobile phones and put under intensive management if they show symptoms.
South Korea is also using its cutting-edge IT technology and its ubiquitous surveillance cameras to track infection sources, identifying the movements of confirmed cases based on their credit card transactions and mobile phone tracking, and disclosing this information to help trace those who may have come into contact with them.
Those who are at risk are placed in self-isolation and thoroughly managed on an individual basis by health authorities.
To cope with hospital bed shortages, the country has turned many job training centres and other public facilities into "living and treatment centres" where patients showing light symptoms are placed in quarantine.
Professor Kim Woo-joo at Korea University College of Medicine said the country had gained experience from dealing with previous health emergencies, such as the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, which resulted in about 750,000 cases and 180 deaths in South Korea, and the 2015
(Mers) coronavirus outbreak, which infected 186 people and resulted in at least 39 deaths in the country.
"South Korea has learned valuable lessons from the outbreaks," Kim said. "Public awareness of the need for individual hygiene such as washing hands and wearing masks has also been raised greatly, thanks to their experiences in the past outbreaks."
The country has subsequently trained health workers to cope with pandemic outbreaks, especially testing for infections, tracking and isolating contacts.
Medical workers wearing protective gear prepare to take samples from employees at a building in Seoul. Photo: AFP
"There are not many countries in the world like South Korea that have both brains and product facilities needed for coping with virus outbreaks," said Hwang Seung-sik, a public health professor at Seoul National University.
Despite these facilities, Kim said it would be difficult for an open society such as South Korea or other OECD countries, to enforce lockdowns as seen in China. This was highlighted when Hong Ik-pyo was forced to resign as the chief spokesman of the ruling Democratic Party after he came under fire over his remarks that Daegu City, the epicentre of the recent outbreak, should be locked down. The remarks came at a politically sensitive time, with parliamentary elections to be held on April 15.
Kim cautioned against premature optimism, noting that there have been small clusters of infections in some hospitals, apartments, churches and nursing homes in places other than Daegu, including Seoul and nearby Seongnam City.
Seoul's Guro district on Monday said at least 46 people were infected at an insurance company call centre, where employees working in closed rooms are not allowed to wear masks so that they can speak clearly on the phone. Four more cases were family members of the employees, and 207 people who work on the same floor were being tested.
"The best scenario is the virus dies away in late March ... The worst scenario is the virus spreads widely in metropolitan Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi Province," Kim said. Almost half of South Korea's 51 million citizens live in this area.
Kim Dong-hyun, president of the Korea Society of Epidemiology, said it is hard to prevent the Covid-19 virus from spreading among community members as viral sharing can occur during asymptomatic periods.
"Countries should take drastic preventive measures, even at the initial stage of the virus outbreak," he said.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: S Korea says lockdowns unnecessary to fight virus
Park Chan-kyong is a South Korean journalist who has worked for the Agence France-Presse Seoul bureau for 35 years. He is now working for the South China Morning Post. He studied political science at Korea University and economics at the Yonsei University Graduate School.
10. North Korea health chiefs face 'purge' by Kim as coronavirus overwhelms regime
This would appear to be an indicator that the wuhan coronavirus is in north Korea and it is experiencing an outbreak.
North Korea health chiefs face 'purge' by Kim as coronavirus overwhelms regime
Two party officials - Ri Man Gon and Pak Thae Dok - have already been "harshly criticized" by Kim amid the epidemic
North Korea 's
coronavirus health chiefs reportedly face being purged by Kim Jong-un as the outbreak overwhelms the regime - despite Pyongyang still not confirming a single case.
The tubby tyrant warned a summit of senior party officials late last month that there would be "serious consequences" if COVID-19 was able to enter the country.
Now with reports emerging that roughly
180 North Korean soldiers have succumbed to the virus, it's feared that the regime will blame a scapegoat.
Two party officials, Ri Man Gon and Pak Thae Dok, have already been "harshly criticized" by Kim Jong-un after he revealed "abuse of power" and "corruption" among senior officials.
A party committee has also been dissolved and now faces a "relevant penalty".
Leading infectious diseases experts said North Korea's dependence on China made it difficult to stop the disease crossing the border, which was closed in January.
(Image: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)
"I think closing the border will reduce the likelihood of entry but won't reduce it to zero," said William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University in the US state of Tennessee.
"These respiratory viruses are very clever," he continued. "They can get past most [North Korean] safeguards eventually because there's so much of it in China."
The hermit kingdom does a staggering 95 percent of its foreign trade with China, according to figures cited by North Korea watchdog, 38 North, in February.
So closing the border has led to skyrocketing prices within the secretive state, according to South Korea's Daily NK newspaper, with the cost of fuel surging by 30%, sugar by 35% and rice by 50%.
A girl wearing a face mask at Pyongyang International Airport(Image: Yevgeny Agoshkov/TASS)
Dr Schaffner, a former president of America's National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, said this pressure could have lead to unauthorised border crossings and further infection.
"There are always people who manage to evade the restrictions," he said.
"People are very clever and here people are actually driven by a need to do this.
"That will offer opportunities for the virus to be acquired in China and then brought over and spread further once people get into North Korea again."
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A source in the North's military revealed the 180 deaths to Daily NK and said that most occurred close to the border with China.
A further 3,700 soldiers were under quarantine, they added.
The regime continues to deny that the virus has any presence within its borders.
In its report, Daily NK added that the wave of deaths had led to corpses being disinfected rather than cremated, in defiance of government orders.
"There's just too many bodies," their source said.
"The military leadership likely believes that suddenly asking the hospitals to cremate all the bodies would create a big headache for medical staff."
A woman disinfects to prevent new coronavirus infections at a department store in Pyongyang(Image: REUTERS)
The source added that army chiefs would "be held responsible for the deaths that have occurred in their units".
The regime is so concerned by the virus that it allegedly won't even allow North Korean defectors who were captured in China to be repatriated so they can be punished.
Regime forces have also threatened to shoot Chinese citizens who come too close to the border, according to three sources.
Recent North Korean propaganda has heavily emphasised efforts to stop the virus, featuring images of officials in protective clothing disinfecting buses, barbershops, schools and other public places.
(Image: Lee Jae-Won/AFLO / SplashNews.com)
Dr Schaffner said such measures would help to reduce but not stop transmission.
"It is very, very impressive, and those kinds of measures likely are going to reduce the risk of transmission," he said.
After being forced into isolation, a group of foreign diplomats was this week allowed to leave the country, arriving at the Russian port of Vladivostok on Monday.
British ambassador, Colin Crooks, tweeted: "Sad to say farewell this morning to colleagues from German Embassy and French Office which are closing temporarily. British Embassy remains open."
11. Can South Korea be a model for coronavirus-hit countries?
Short answer yes. We can learn form our ally. But there are also cultural differences that we must understand.
The South is a democracy but also has a disciplined civil society, something analysts point to as a factor: "In democracies, we often are a little dismissive of whichever government is in power and take their advice with a grain of salt," said Marylouise McLaws of the University of New South Wales, an epidemiologist and advisor to the World Health Organisation.
...
Japan-where nearly 600 people have been infected, with 12 deaths-has not undertaken widespread testing and could learn from South Korea's response, said Masahiro Kami, head of the Tokyo-based Medical Governance Research Institute."
Testing is a crucial initial step to control the virus," Kami said, adding: "It's a good model for every country." South Korea had "gone in hard and fast", said McLaws of the University of New South Wales, contrasting its approach with that of Italy, where she said the outbreak could have taken a different course if containment measures had been imposed earlier.
"It's very hard for the authorities-the government-to take the plunge in doing that. So it's often done late."
Can South Korea be a model for coronavirus-hit countries?
12. Chart Shows How Far Behind The US Is Falling When It Comes to Coronavirus Testing
What is interesting is comparing China and South Korea with all the others. My guess is that when this pandemic is resolved and then thoroughly studied the ability to rapidly test on a wide scale may be the key factor in controlling the outbreak. Of course when you compare China and South Korea in terms of transparency South Korea was far more transparent so when this is judged the keys to controlling a pandemic like this will be transparency and immediate, rapid, widespread testing.
Chart Shows How Far Behind The US Is Falling When It Comes to Coronavirus Testing
ScienceAlert · by Aylin Woodward & Skye Gould, Business Insider
As of Sunday,
1,707 Americans had been tested for the novel coronavirus, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. South Korea, by contrast, has tested more than 189,000 people. The two countries announced their first coronavirus cases on the same day.
In the US, test-kit shortages have hampered health authorities' ability to get a clear sense of how many Americans are infected. Compared with many other countries affected by the coronavirus, in fact, the US has done the fewest COVID-19 tests per capita.
South Korea's testing total so far, when broken down into number of tests performed per million citizens, seems to be about 700 times as high than the US's.
How many people have been tested per capita in 8 countries
(Skye Gould/Business Insider)
Because China has not published national data about its coronavirus testing, its Guangdong province is used here for purposes of comparison.
Not every country reports their testing numbers using the same metric. The UK reports it as "people tested", the US reports number of "patients", and Japan reports it as "persons". South Korea reports their testing total as "cases", Israel, Guangdong, and the Netherlands as number of "tests", and Italy as number of "swabs".
"The infectious-disease community and the public-health community desire to do much more testing than is currently feasible," William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Tennessee,
told Business Insider on 26 February.
"Other countries are testing much more broadly than we are," he added. "We are trotting along while they're racing along."
It's likely that the US has done more tests than the CDC's reported figure suggests, since the agency isn't tallying tests performed at state and private labs in the past week.
The US Food and Drug Administration's commissioner, Stephen Hahn, said on Friday that the US had actually conducted
5,861 coronavirus tests,
CNN reported. That number did not include tests conducted at private and commercial labs, Hahn added.
But even that higher number of tests per capita would still put the US behind the other seven countries listed above, with 18 tests per million people.
Testing influences what we know about the coronavirus' death rate
Without adequate testing, it's challenging for US public-health officials to grasp the scope of the outbreak's spread and determine how dangerous it is. More widespread testing could alter the disease's known death rate, a basic calculation that divides the number of reported deaths by the number of confirmed cases.
The US has one of the highest death rates in the world - about 3.6 percent as of Monday - but that's probably because so few mild cases have been counted.
Because testing capacity has been limited in the US, the CDC initially held stringent standards for who qualified. Until last week, the agency tested only people who had recent exposure to a confirmed patient, had travelled to a country with an outbreak, or required hospitalisation.
So the US still probably has not tested or provided diagnoses to some patients with mild cases. Twenty-two Americans have died out of about 600 cases.
South Korea, which has the third-highest number of cases behind Italy and China, has a death rate of just 0.7 percent - 50 people have died out of 7,478 cases.
Many patients are still hospitalized, however, so their conditions could change with time.
A disease's death rate is also different from its mortality rate - the latter is the number of deaths out of the number of people in an at-risk population. The death rate is not a reflection of the likelihood that any given person will die of infection.
Amid virus-driven market misery, some surprising good news surfaced on Wednesday when data showed South Korea's exports soared 21.9% for the first 10 days of March, year-on-year.
South Korea is always on the radar screens of market watchers, as it is usually the first trade-centric economy to release data, making it a weather vane of global trade winds.
Wednesday's data was released by the Korean Customs Service and reported by
Yonhap news agency. KSC noted, however, that there had been seven working days in the 10-day period of this year, compared to six in the corresponding period last year.
The export data follows upbeat news from the month prior. Until the beginning of 2020, South Korean exports had been falling for 14 consecutive months, but in February, they rose 4.5%, year-on-year. Notably, chip exports increased 9.4% , year-on-year, over the month,
according to Bloomberg.
The grim numbers from last year were largely a result of the trade war between China and Washington - Korea's No 1 and No 2 export destinations, respectively - and also a long, lingering downturn in the global semiconductor sector. Market watchers had been hoping for a turnaround in chips since the second half of 2019.
In the first two weeks of March, exports to China rose 14.8% year-on-year, while shipments to the United States surged by 45.4%. Leading the charge, Yonhap reported, were petrochemicals, mobile devices and automobiles. Ships and displays, however, were down.
14. Changing the Constitution: Some South Korean Lawmakers Surreptitiously Propose to Change the Constitution if 2% of the Population Agree
As I have offered written, no one is tracking South Korean domestic politics more closely than Dr. Tara O.
Changing the Constitution: Some South Korean Lawmakers Surreptitiously Propose to Change the Constitution if 2% of the Population Agree - East Asia Research Center
In a surprise move, and amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, a group of lawmakers tabled a bill- "One Point Constitutional Amendment"- to
change South Korea's Constitution, if 1,000,000 people (or less than 2% of the population) agree to change it. These lawmakers made
no efforts to hold a public discourse or to explain to the public about what parts of the constitution need to change or why the constitution needs to be changed. The reason the lawmakers gave was that the constitution has not been changed in 33 years and that they want "public square democracy" to be "voting democracy." They
quietly submitted the proposed amendment to the Bills' Affairs Department at the National Assembly on March 6, 2020. That fact was discovered two days later. South Korea's major media are not covering this important issue. Criticisms from the public and other lawmakers are mounting.
National Constitutional Reform Solidarity, comprised of dozens of civil society organizations, held a press conference on 2020-1-15 to mark its creation and to demand that the constitutional amendment for them to directly be able to change the constitution be on the ballot for referendum on the election day of 2020-4-15.
On March 8, 2020, the "National Constitutional Reform Solidarity" (국민발안개헌연대), with the participation of 25 other civil organizations, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU, 민주노총), People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD, 참여연대), Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (경제정의실천시민연합), and the Korean Constitutional Association, (대한민국헌정회), held a press conference at the National Assembly to
announce the tabling of the amendment bill with the support of 148 lawmakers and
stated it will "complement representative democracy by institutionally guaranteeing [direct] public participation, turning "public square democracy" into "voting democracy."
National Assemblywoman Sim Sang-jung (in yellow), Justice Party, shows solidarity with her base, KCTU, at a protest at the National Assembly, 2019
Currently, a constitutional amendment can be brought only by the president or a 2/3 majority of the National Assembly. The new motion
adds that a group of 1,000,000 voters can also propose changes to the Constitution. Given that South Korea's population is more than 51 million, 1 million is hardly a majority of the South Korean population. The KCTU, also called Minjoo Nochong and one of the participating organizations pushing for the constitutional amendment, alone
has over 1 million members. KCTU often participates in political demonstrations-the "public square democracy" mentioned above-including the anti-U.S. beef imports/Mad Cow, anti-THAAD, Park Geun-hye impeachment candlelight, and Sewol Ferry rallies. They often behave
violently toward police and others, with no repercussions.
KCTU members drag a police officer across the police line, make him kneel, then beat him up, May 22, 2019
After the National Assembly proposes a constitutional amendment, the president must make it public for at least 20 days, and if the 2/3 majority at the National Assembly
passes the bill, then it goes for a public referendum within 30 days. If the majority of electorates and voters agree, then the constitution is
amended.
148 of 295 is 50.16%, so to achieve the 2/3 majority to place this item up for referendum, 47 more votes will be needed to reach the required195 votes (2/3 majority).
The April 15 general election is just around the corner. If the proposed bill passes the plenary session, it will be ready in time to be added as a
referendum to coincide with the election day, when the voter turnout is greater than if the referendum were held on another date.
Criticisms
Although 22 United Future Party members took part in proposing the bill, others in the same party are criticizing the signatories' actions.
At the Supreme Council of the National Assembly, Shim Jae-cheol (심재철), the floor leader of the United Future Party,
stated, "22 of our party members, including Kim Moo-sung, went along with the proposal to change the constitution, which proposes that if 1 million voters or more participate, then they can independently amend the constitution. KCTU or Jeongyojo (Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union) can [quickly] mobilize 1 million [people]. It's obvious how the voters' initiatives will be used."
The legal profession was also concerned. Lawyer Hong Se-wook (홍세욱)
said, "1 million people is less than one tenth of voters. The constitution is the framework of our country. It is problematic to allow a tiny minority of people to propose changes to the constitution. Big parties can quickly mobilize 1 million people and use it for political purposes."
The Liberty Republican Party spokesperson Kim Young (김영) criticized the "One Point Constitutional Amendment"
stating that it was slipped through without any public hearing, and that the major media are remaining silent on the issue. Kim
lamented that this is a revival of the failed attempt by Moon Jae-in and his party to incorporate socialism into the constitution in March 2018, which the Liberty Korea Party prevented.
Both the Deobureo Minjoo Party and Moon Jae-in, on separate occasions, tried to change the constitution in 2018. The ruling party wanted to
replace "liberal democracy as the basic order of the Republic of Korea" with "democracy as the basic order of the Republic of Korea," deleting the concept of freedom. (North Korea calls itself a "people's democracy," which is different from "liberal democracy.") It also wanted to
add numerous KCTU-friendly clauses, such as "guarantee of labor union participation in management" and "no dismissal (of employees)" in the constitution-concepts that are contrary to the market economy, but in line with socialism.
A recently formed group of 6,094 professors from 377 universities across the country, the Professors' Solidarity for Freedom and Justice (PSFJ or JeongGyoMo),
denounced the move and demanded the lawmakers immediately withdraw the amendment proposal. JeongGyoMo stated "the country is paralyzed by the coronavirus outbreak, and the National Assembly slipped through a proposal that allows anyone to initiate changes to the constitution."
The professors' group further
stated "It's not an exaggeration to say the national identity is in the Constitution...The proposal means that changing any clauses in the Constitution [and subsequently] the national identity is possible with just one million petitions...If you look at the number of people who have participated in the Blue House petitions recently, it is not difficult to gather 1 million supporters...This is just a means for the entities that are well-organized to mobilize (the needed numbers)...In other words, it means the Constitution of the Republic of Korea would be continuously at the mercy of different interest groups. It's clear that social confusion would arise, leading to a crisis of democracy that is bigger and more dangerous than 'public square democracy.'"
Who introduced the bill?
Kang Chang-il (강창일) of the ruling Deobureo Minjoo Party (Democratic Party of Korea) and Kim Moo-sung (김무성) of the main opposition Unified Future Party (미래통합당) led the motion, and 148 lawmakers supported the motion. Currently 295 lawmakers are at the National Assembly (normally 300). The following political parties
participated (in order of numbers agreeing):
Deobureo Minjoo Party (더불어민주당) (ruling party): 92
Unified Future Party (미래통합당) [formed on February 17, 2020 by merging the members of the Liberty Korea Party, New Conservative Party (broke away from Baruenmirae Party), Moving Toward the Future Party, Brand New Party, and We Up Party]: 22
Party for People's Livelihoods (민생당), (formed on February 24, 2020 by merging members from Bareunmirae Party, New Alternatives Party, and Democracy and Peace Party): 18
Justice Party (정의당): 6 (all)
Minjoong Party (민중당, means proletariat party) (The party is a remnant from the banned Unified Progressive Party): 1
Future Korea Party (미래한국당): 1
Specifically, the following 148 lawmakers agreed on the constitutional amendment.
Unified Future Party (미래통합당): 22
Kang Seok-ho 강석호
Kim Moo-sung 김무성
Kim Sam-hwa 김삼화
Kim Sung-tae 김성태
Kim Su-min 김수민
Kim Yong-tae 김용태
Kim Hack-yong 김학용
Park Myung-jae 박명재
Baek Seung-joo 백승주
Shin Yong-hyeon 신용현
Ahn Sang-soo 안상수
Yeo Sang-kyoo 여상규
Yoo Min-bong 유민봉
Lee Myoung-su 이명수
Lee Jong-koo 이종구
Lee Jong-bae 이종배
Lee Hye-hoon 이혜훈
Jang Seok-chun 장석춘
Jeong Kab-yoon 정갑윤
Choung Byoung-gug 정병국
Chung Jin-suk 정진석
Hong Il-pyo 홍일표
Future Korea Party (미래한국당): 1
Jeong Woon-chun 정운천
Justice Party (정의당): 6
Kim Jong-dae 김종대
Sim Sang-jeung 심상정
Yeo Young-kug 여영국
Youn So-ha 윤소하
Lee Jeong-mi 이정미
Chu Hye-seon 추혜선
Party for People's Livelihoods (민생당): 18
Kim Kwang-soo 김광수
Kim Jong-hoe 김종회
Park Sun-sook 박선숙
Park Joo-sun 박주선
Park Joo-hyun 박주현
Park Jie-won 박지원
You Sung-yop 유성엽
Yoon Young-il 윤영일
Chang Byoung-wan 장병완
Chang Jung-sook 장정숙
Chung Dong-young 정동영
Cho Bae-sook 조배숙
Joo Seung-yong 주승용
Chae Yi-bai 채이배
Chun Jung-bae 천정배
Choi Gyung-hwan 최경환
Choi Do-ja 최도자
Hwang Ju-hong 황주홍
Minjoong Party (민중당): 1
Kim Jong-hoon 김종훈
People's Party (국민의당): 2
Kwon Eun-hee 권은희
Lee Tae-kyu 이태규
Unaffiliated: 6
Kang Ghil-boo 강길부
Kim Kyung-jin 김경진
Kim Kwan-young 김관영
Lee Yong-joo 이용주
Lee Yong-ho 이용호
Jeong In-hwa 정인화
Deobureo Minjoo Party (더불어민주당): 92
Kang Chang-il 강창일
Kang Hoon-sik 강훈식
Ki Dong-min 기동민
Kim Kyung-hyup 김경협
Kim Du-kwan 김두관
Kim Min-ki 김민기
Kim Byoung-gwan 김병관
Kim Byung-wook 김병욱
Kim Boo-kyum 김부겸
Kim Sang-hee 김상희
Kim Youn-joo 김영주
Kim Young-choon 김영춘
Kim Young-ho 김영호
Kim Jung-ho 김정호
Kim Jong-min 김종민
Kim Jin-pyo 김진표
Kim Cheol-min 김철민
Kim Tae-nyeon 김태년
Kim Han-jung 김한정
Koh Yong-jin 고용진
Kwon Mi-hyuk 권미혁
Kwon Chil-seung 권칠승
Keum Tae-sup 금태섭
Nam In-soon 남인순
Noh Woong-rae 노응래
Do Jong-hwan 도종환
Maeng Sung-kyu 맹성규
Min Byung-doo 민병두
Park Kyung-mee 박경미
Park Kwang-on 박광온
Park Beom-kye 박범계
Park Jeung 박정
Park Chan-dae 박찬대
Park Hong-keun 박홍근
Baek Jae-hyun 백재현
Back Hye-ryun 백혜련
Seo Sam-seok 서삼석
Seo Young-kyo 서영교
Seo Hyung-soo 서형수
So Byung-hoon 소병훈
Son Kum-ju 손금주
Song Gab-seok 송갑석
Song Young-gil 송영길
Song Ok-joo 송옥주
Shin Kyoung-min 신경민
Shin Dong-keun 신동근
Shin Chang-hyun 신창현
Shim Ki-joon 심기준
Shim Jae-kwon 심재권
Ahn Gyu-back 안규백
An Min-suk 안민석
An Ho-young 안호영
Eoh Kiy-ku 어기구
Oh Young-hoon 오영훈
Oh Jae-sae 오제세
Woo Sang-ho 우상호
Woo Won-shik 우원식
Won Hye-young 원혜영
Wi Seong-gon 위성곤
Yoo Dong-soo 유동수
You Seung-hee 유승희
Yun Il-gyu 윤일규
Yun Ho-jung 윤호중
Yoon Hu-duk 윤후덕
Lee Kai-ho 이개호
Lee Sang-min 이상민
Lee Sang-heon 이상헌
Lee Seok-hyun 이석현
Lee Yong-deuk 이용득
Lee Won-wook 이원욱
Lee Jong-kul 이종걸
Rhee Cheol-hee 이철희
Lee Hack-young 이학영
Lee Hu-sam 이후삼
Lee Hoon 이훈
In Jae-keun 인재근
Lim Jong-seong 임종성
Chun Jae-soo 전재수
Jeon Hyun-heui 전현희
Jung Sung-ho 정성호
Jung Jae-ho 정재호
Jung Choun-sook 정춘숙
Je Youn-kyung 제윤경
Jo Seung-lae 조승래
Cho Jeong-sik 조정식
Jin Sun-mee 진선미
Choi Woon-youl 최운열
Choi Jae-sung 최재성
Han Jeoung-ae 한정애
Hong Eui-rak 홍의락
Hong Ihk-pyo 홍익표
Hwang Hee 황희
The "One Point Constitutional Amendment" proposal, which was supported by half of the National Assembly members, is troubling. If it passes, then less than 2% of South Korea's population can change the constitution and impact the other 98% of society. Organizations like the KCTU can easily mobilize 1 million members, and could constantly demand the constitution be changed to serve their own political interests. In effect, this would destabilize the foundation of South Korea. There will be no rule of law, when small factions can constantly create changes to the country's highest law, the constitution. The way these lawmakers proposed this amendment and its timing are problematic as well. It was submitted quietly without discussions, while the public's attention was focused on dealing with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). It is as if they did not want the public to find out and oppose the proposal. The fact that 22 of the lawmakers who signed the proposal are from the biggest opposition party (an amalgamation of the former Liberty Korea Party and other parties) is shocking as well. Two years ago, the Moon administration and the Deobureo Minjoo Party tried to delete the concept and elements of liberal democracy and market economy from the constitution. They also rushed to try to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot to coincide with the general election at that time. It appears the same forces are continuing their work undermining the identity and stability of the Republic of Korea.
15. OHCHR | Statement by Michelle Bachelet United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (north Korea)
OHCHR | Statement by Michelle Bachelet United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Pursuant to resolutions 34/24 and 40/20, I am honoured to update the Council regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
In line with resolutions 34/24 and 40/20, we have strengthened monitoring and documentation; continued to develop an information and evidence repository; and are currently exploring strategies for future accountability.
Our monitoring indicates apparently systematic human rights violations in detention centres in the DPRK, including sexual violence against women and girls. These violations appear to be taking place under the direct authority of two Ministries, with likely involvement of higher authorities. They may amount to crimes against humanity, which could engage the individual criminal responsibility of DPRK officials.
We are seeking to identify those most responsible for such crimes. We are also looking into the abduction of foreign nationals, including people from Japan and the Republic of Korea And we are working with States, civil society and other partners to identify and promote a number of avenues for accountability -- including those that might be pursued by victims and their representatives around the world, based on the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Madam President,
Our Accountability Project for the DPRK presents a historic, but challenging opportunity to advance accountability. The difficulty in gaining information from the DPRK, the scale of the alleged international crimes, and the timescale over which they have occurred, add to the complexity of this work. The cornerstone of the project - the information and evidence repository - is an enormous undertaking, with considerable financial implications due to the need for sophisticated software to manage and analyse information for criminal justice purposes.
The Office is carrying out this mandate with a skeleton team and a limited budget. I call on this Council and Member States to engage with the Office in supporting possible strategies for accountability, and to provide the necessary support so that the Office can continue this work.
I also ask the DPRK and other relevant States to facilitate the investigation of allegations; to put an end to violations where they are taking place; and to support and protect victims.
Thank you
16. UN's Bachelet alleges sex abuse in North Korea detention centres
The United Nations' human rights chief said on Tuesday that "apparently systematic" human rights violations in North Korean detention centres, including sexual violence against women and girls, could amount to crimes against humanity.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the alleged violations appeared to have taken place under the "direct authority of two ministries" and with the likely involvement of "higher authorities" in North Korea. She did not name the ministries.
Bachelet told the Human Rights Council during an update on
North Korea that the allegations were based on her office's improved monitoring of the reclusive country.
"They may amount to crimes against humanity, which could engage the individual criminal responsibility of DPRK officials," she told the 47-member council in Geneva, using the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the country's official name.
Pyongyang's delegation stayed away during Bachelet's brief speech.
The UN high commissioner said her office was trying to identify the people most responsible for the crimes.
At the same time, Bachelet said her office is also looking at the alleged abduction of foreign nationals, including people from Japan and South Korea.
"We are working with states, civil society and other partners to identify and promote a number of avenues for accountability."
'Serious provocation'
Bachelet said an accountability project for North Korea was challenging and that management of an information and evidence repository was an "enormous undertaking" because it requires sophisticated software.
It is unclear what the international body would do next to address the alleged abuses.
In the past, Pyongyang has warned that UN and the Security Council that it would consider any discussion of the country's human rights situation a "serious provocation" that would increase tension in the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has repeatedly rejected accusations of
human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation. The country has been under UN sanctions since 2006 because of its ballistic missiles and nuclear programmes.
In October 2019, the UN independent investigator on human rights Tomas Ojea Quintana
said there had been no improvement in North Korea's human rights situation during his three years as special rapporteur.
Quintana also said that people continue "to live in the entrenched fear" of being sent to a political prison camp on suspicion of being "a spy" or a "traitor".
A 2014 UN report on North Korean human rights also concluded that North Korean security chiefs - and possibly leader Kim himself - should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of "Nazi-style atrocities".
A November 2014 resolution also asked the UN Security Council to refer the leadership in Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court for possible charges of "crimes agaisnt humanity."
17. North Korean government may be guilty of crimes against humanity: UN official
Comments from my friend and colleague human rights lawyer Amanda Mortwedt Oh. Human rights is a moral imperative and a national security issue. Kim Jong-un cannot survive if he does not deny the human rights of the Korean people living in the north.
One expert told NK News that Bachelet's statement is a "welcome development" for holding the DPRK's leaders accountable for their treatment of the country's political prisoners.
"It's crucial to not lose sight of the UN COI's report, no matter the sensitivity, because we know the DPRK continues to commit crimes against humanity despite, or in spite of, the UN's findings and our collective calls for accountability," said Amanda Mortwedt Oh, a human rights attorney at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), a non-governmental organization.
"As a result, perpetrators enjoy impunity while we continue to hear from escapees who describe gross human rights violations they have suffered at the hands of the Kim regime, which no person should have to endure," she said.
That point - impunity - was also emphasized in the special rapporteur's report last week.
"Now is the time to develop and test concrete avenues for accountability and justice for human rights violations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the report said.
"Victims of human rights violations cannot wait for the parties to agree on peace and denuclearization," it said. "Lack of accountability also means lack of deterrence for ongoing and future abuses."
"The inaction by the United Nations Security Council to refer the case to the International Criminal Court, as recommended by the Commission of Inquiry, should not paralyse all other initiatives and mechanisms aimed at bringing justice."
North Korean government may be guilty of crimes against humanity: UN official | NK News
nknews.org · by View more articles by Jacob Fromer · March 10, 2020
March 11, 2020
North Korean government may be guilty of crimes against humanity: UN official
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights "seeking to identify those most responsible" for abuses against DPRK prisoners
The North Korean government's mistreatment of its own citizens
may amount to crimes against humanity, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Tuesday.
In a statement delivered to the UN's Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, the top rights official at the United Nations, condemned the DPRK's persistent human rights abuses against its political prison population, and said that the authorities in Pyongyang should be held accountable for what they have done.
"Our monitoring indicates apparently systematic human rights violations in detention centres in the DPRK, including sexual violence against women and girls," said Bachelet, the former President of Chile.
"These violations appear to be taking place under the direct authority of two Ministries, with likely involvement of higher authorities," she said. "They may amount to crimes against humanity, which could engage the individual criminal responsibility of DPRK officials."
"We are seeking to identify those most responsible for such crimes," she added.
DPRK leadership did not appear to have immediately responded to Bachelet's comments, but often strongly opposes accusations that it is committing human rights abuses.
The high commissioner's comments come just days after the UN's special rapporteur for North Korean human rights, Tomás Ojea Quintana,
published a new report detailing a wide array of rights abuses that allegedly continue unabated in the DPRK - including against the country's political prisoners.
"The fear of being sent to political prison is entrenched in people's daily life," the report said.
"The Ministry of State Security exclusively makes a decision to send those who are accused of committing crimes against the State to political prison," it added. "The suspects' families are not informed of the decisions or of the whereabouts of their relatives, which amounts to enforced disappearance."
The UN has estimated that 80,000 to 120,000 North Korean citizens are scattered across political prison camps in the country - often sprawling complexes where vicious abuse is common and food is dangerously scarce, according to satellite imagery and accounts from North Korean escapees.
Six years ago, a landmark UN report known as the
Commission of Inquiry (COI) accused Pyongyang of committing human rights atrocities - in part through the country's political prison system - and suggested that the situation be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"In the political prison camps of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the inmate population has been gradually eliminated through deliberate starvation, forced labour, executions, torture, rape and the denial of reproductive rights enforced through punishment, forced abortion and infanticide," the 2014 COI report said.
"The commission estimates that hundreds of thousands of political prisoners have perished in these camps over the past five decades," it said.
One expert told
NK News that Bachelet's statement is a "welcome development" for holding the DPRK's leaders accountable for their treatment of the country's political prisoners.
"It's crucial to not lose sight of the UN COI's report, no matter the sensitivity, because we know the DPRK continues to commit crimes against humanity despite, or in spite of, the UN's findings and our collective calls for accountability," said Amanda Mortwedt Oh, a human rights attorney at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), a non-governmental organization.
"As a result, perpetrators enjoy impunity while we continue to hear from escapees who describe gross human rights violations they have suffered at the hands of the Kim regime, which no person should have to endure," she said.
That point - impunity - was also emphasized in the special rapporteur's report last week.
"Now is the time to develop and test concrete avenues for accountability and justice for human rights violations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the report said.
"Victims of human rights violations cannot wait for the parties to agree on peace and denuclearization," it said. "Lack of accountability also means lack of deterrence for ongoing and future abuses."
"The inaction by the United Nations Security Council to refer the case to the International Criminal Court, as recommended by the Commission of Inquiry, should not paralyse all other initiatives and mechanisms aimed at bringing justice."
The North Korean government's mistreatment of its own citizens may amount to crimes against humanity, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Tuesday. In a statement delivered to the UN's Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, the top rights official at the United Nations, condemned the DPRK's persistent human rights abuses against its political prison population, and said that
About the Author
Jacob Fromer
Jacob Fromer is
NK News's Washington DC correspondent. He previously worked in the U.S. Senate.
nknews.org· byView more articles by Jacob Fromer· March 10, 2020
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:
"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."
