North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared that his government will not accept outside assistance because the country is facing steep recovery efforts, state media reported Friday.
The statement follows the move to lift a coronavirus lock on the border town of Kaesong, with Kim saying the three weeks of isolation had stabilized the pandemic situation, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. However, Kim refuses to accept any outside help in combating either the pandemic or rebuilding parts of the country damaged by weeks of torrential rains.
CORONAVIRUS TRACING APPS APPLY IN 3 MORE STATES
The state-run KCNA reported that around 97,000 acres of crops nationwide were destroyed, with around 16,600 homes and 630 public buildings destroyed or flooded. Kim expressed sympathy for people who were relocated to temporary shelters after losing their homes in the flood.
People disinfect their hands and take their temperatures before heading to Pyongyang Railway Station in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, August 13, 2020. (AP Photo / Cha Song Ho)
“The situation, in which the spread of the global malignant virus has diminished, requires that we do not allow outside help for the flood damage, but close the border and carry out strict anti-epidemic work,” KCNA asked.
Women in protective clothing disinfect a hall at Pyongyang Railway Station to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Thursday, August 13, 2020. (AP Photo / Jon Chol Jin)
Experts say the pandemic likely tarnished Kim’s long-term goals of building clear economic confidence when the nation closes its border with China, the North’s main economic lifeline.
North Korea’s bilingual problem also indicates significant problems for South Korea’s hopes of resuming diplomatic talks. Professor Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul said the country had hoped to use financial aid to bring the North back into talks.
CORONAVIRUS QUANTANT CENTER SEEM EFFECTIVE – BUT STRAIGHT AHEAD TOUGH SELL
“The North Korean economy, although it is demanding independence, is becoming increasingly dependent on China and will strive to provide sanctions-busting efforts and COVID-19 prevention,” Easley said. “The job of the new Prime Minister of North Korea will be to show that the country has recovered from the recent flood and has upgraded public health facilities” through the October celebrations, he said.
A passenger wearing a face mask to limit the spread of the coronavirus disinfected her hands before boarding a trolley bus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Thursday, August 13, 2020. (AP Photo / Jon Chol Jin)
North Korea has continued with virtually all cooperation with the South after stopping talks as part of a larger negotiation with the US on nuclear capabilities, with none of the nation shrinking over sanctions and disarmament steps.
A man in a protective suit disinfects the inside of a trolleybus to help limit the spread of the coronavirus in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, August 13, 2020. (AP Photo / Jon Chol Jin)
In an email to The Associated Press last week, Dr. Edwin Salvador, the representative of the World Health Organization to North Korea, said the North has told the UN agency that it has 64 first contacts in quarantine of the suspected Kaesong case and 3,571 secondary contacts in state law facilities for 40 days.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Since the end of December, North Korea has quarantined and released 25,905 people, 382 of them foreigners, Salvador said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
