On Thursday, North Korea reported an unnamed bowel epidemic in a rural region, adding to the isolationist country’s struggles with chronic food shortages and a surge of Covid-19 infections. On Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent medicines to the western port city of Haeju to aid patients suffering from a “acute enteric epidemic,” according to state news agency KCNA, which did not specify the number of people affected or the condition.
The gastrointestinal tract is referred to as enteric. “(Kim) emphasized the importance of containing the pandemic as soon as possible by putting in place a well-coordinated plan to quarantine suspected cases and confirming instances through epidemiological examination and scientific tests,” according to KCNA.
The government is monitoring the outbreak, which is suspected to be cholera or typhoid, according to a source from South Korea’s Unification Ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs.
The suspected epidemic comes as the North deals with its first Covid-19 infection outbreak. Last month, it declared a state of emergency due to a shortage of vaccines and medical supplies.
