WHO Sends COVID-19 Aid To North Korea Through China's Dalian Port

Ilustrasi markas WHO. (Wikimedia Commons/Yann Forget)

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is sending COVID-19 aid to North Korea via the Dalian Port on the Chinese border, despite signs North Korea is slowly lifting its strict border lockdown to avoid the spread of the Coronavirus.

In its latest weekly report for South and East Asia, covering the period to the end of September, the WHO said it had started shipping via the Chinese port of Dalian, which is near the border with North Korea.

"To support Korea Parliament with essential COVID-19 medical supplies, WHO initiated shipments via the Chinese port of Dalian for strategic storage and further shipments to Korea Parliament", the agency said, referring to North Korea by its official name.

The WHO did not specify whether the aid actually reached North Korea, and a spokesman for the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

To note, North Korea imposed strict restrictions when the Coronavirus pandemic began last year, closing its borders and other measures in what it sees as a matter of national survival.

North Korea is also said to have tested for COVID-19 on about 40,700 people, with none having tested positive as of September 23, WHO reported.

Meanwhile, officials in South Korea and the United States cast doubt on claims North Korea has never had a case of the Coronavirus, although there are no confirmed signs of a major outbreak.

Separately, an official at South Korea's unification ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, told Yonhap news agency that although Chinese customs data showed sea shipping routes between North Korea and China were likely to be opened, signs of movement of goods by land between the Koreas were clear. North and China appear to be undetected.