South Korea International Radio reported on February 10 that Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, Mazegola, said in an interview with the International Media Telegraph that North Korea’s blockade of the border to prevent the inflow of the novel coronavirus epidemic caused insufficient supplies.
Mazegola said that after North Korea blocked its border in January last year, it completely banned imports last September, so many enterprises stopped work and people lost their jobs.
Since January last year, foreign diplomatic officials in North Korea have also been banned from leaving Pyongyang for other places, and their children cannot leave the embassy.
Mazegora said that North Korea allows foreigners to go to shops and a special market in about 300 Pyongyang, but due to months of blockade, the items sold in stores have been reduced to the lowest level, and it is difficult to buy even basic food products such as flour and cooking oil, and it is difficult to buy clothes and shoes.
Mazegora said of the backdrop of North Korea’s blockade measures that North Korea does not have sufficient medical infrastructure for epidemic prevention, and can only take similar measures to completely stop the influx of the virus, and the North Korean authorities have publicly acknowledged this.
