North Korea’s state media has refrained from disclosing to its citizens that vaccinations for COVID-19 have been invented, despite the fact that almost 1.7 million doses of AstraZeneca jabs are scheduled to arrive in the DPRK sometime in the future. On the contrary, the media has extensively covered the devastation caused by the pandemic in various countries globally, including broadcasting pictures of mass graves and overburdened healthcare workers.
In television broadcasts of rapidly rising coronavirus cases across the globe, which are televised several times a day, state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) reportedly airs ten-minute long segments that show sick patients, mass graves, and interviews with overwhelmed health workers from around the world. Additionally, the footage is set against the backdrop of melancholic music and the voices of people are dubbed over with emotional Korean voiceovers.
While multiple countries in the world have initiated mass inoculation drives to immunise their populations, Pyongyang has conveniently protected its citizens from the whole truth. “Nothing is said at all about all these vaccines that have been developed abroad...Maybe that’s because they don’t want people to relax, so to speak, and have some hopes,” explained Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, in an interview last week. Matsegora is one of the few remaining senior foreign diplomats in Pyongyang after several left the country due to a severe shortage of medication and other basic goods during one of the world’s strictest lockdowns.
For a long part of the pandemic, North Korea refused to even admit the existence of COVID-19 infections in the country. However, the almost year-long border shutdown has resulted in a humanitarian crisis in the country. In January, the regime finally admitted that it needed help by requesting to be added to the global COVAX facility. Under this initiative, the country is set to receive nearly two million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that requires minimum storage infrastructure.
In the past, Pyongyang has indicated the presence of the virus in the country by attempting to steal Pfizer’s science behind the vaccine by hacking into its database. In total, North Korean hackers have tried to break into the systems of at least nine healthcare firms, including Johnson & Johnson, Novavax Inc, and AstraZeneca. Despite concerns regarding the country’s capacity to carry out a mass inoculation drive, the country is thought to have the know-how and capacity to be able to carry out a successful campaign when the shipment from COVAX arrives.
North Korean State Media Leaves Citizens in the Dark About Existence of COVID-19 Vaccines
While North Korean state media has extensively covered the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in other countries, it continues to be silent on the development of vaccines to combat the virus.
April 20, 2021
SOURCE: JON CHOL JIN, AP