Coronavirus: WHO sending aid to North Korea through China border

The WHO said it recently began sending medical supplies through China’s Dalian port, although it did not elaborate if the aid had actually reached North Korea

Elsewhere, Singapore children will soon return to in-person classes, while Malaysia has struck a deal to buy 150,000 courses of Merck’s antiviral pill

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A health official sprays disinfectant in a store in Pyongyang. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:25pm, 7 Oct 2021Updated: 10:40pm, 7 Oct 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is sending Covid-19 aid for North Korea through China’s border port of Dalian, despite few signs Pyongyang has eased strict border lockdowns.

In the WHO’s latest weekly report for South and East Asia, which covers the period to the end of September, it said it had begun shipments through China’s Dalian port, which is near the border with North Korea.

“To support DPR Korea with essential Covid-19 medical supplies, WHO started the shipment through Dalian port, China, for strategic stockpiling and further dispatch to DPR Korea,” the agency said, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name.

The WHO did not elaborate on whether the aid had actually reached North Korea, and a spokesperson for the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

North Korea imposed tough restrictions when the pandemic began last year, sealing its borders and other measures in what it saw as a matter of national survival.

It had tested at least 40,700 people for the coronavirus with no positive results as of Sept. 23, the WHO reported.

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