(Result of the Fact-Findings of the State Emergency Epidemic Preventing Headquarters)
The National Meeting of Reviewing the Emergency Anti-Epidemic Work was convened in the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea(DPRK) on August 10, 2022 to review the successes and experience gained from the work of terminating the COVID-19 crisis that persisted for the past three months and to discuss the future measures to prevent its recurrence. During the meeting, there was an in-depth discussion on the ways to hold in check the inflow of malignant virus from the outside, given that the goal of anti-epidemic struggle has been attained to turn the territory of the DPRK into a virus-free zone within the shortest period of time and that the conditions have been created to prevent the recurrence of the malignant disease by eradicating it within the country.
As was already reported on June 30, the State Emergency Epidemic Preventing Headquarters formed an investigation committee comprised of relevant specialized agencies, launched an investigation of the inflow path of the stealth omicron variant BA.2 that rapidly spread across the country, and arrived at the scientific conclusion that Ipho-ri, Kumgang County, Kangwon Province, an area that borders on the Minlitary Demarcation Line with south Korea, was the place that sparked off the spread of the malignant disease.
The investigation committee was comprised of all relevant bodies including the authoritative scientific research institutions of the country, national security organs, judicial and prosecution organs. While conducting an in-depth investigation across the country into the inflow path of the malignant virus, it grasped the fact that the fever cases were first reported among several people who were entering the capital city from Ipho-ri area, Kumgang County, Kangwon Province, and that fever cases suddenly exploded among those who met with the above-mentioned people.
At the same time, it was confirmed that until mid-April, the fever cases that occurred in all other regions and units across the country, except for this region, were due to other diseases, and there had been no explosive increase of fever cases.
The investigation committee conducted a multi-faceted, anatomical and full-scale investigation and analysis in Ipho-ri, Kumgang County of the factors that might well serve as an inflow path of the malignant virus. Based on the findings, it uncovered the fact that an 18-year-old soldier and a 5-year-old child touched the object respectively, which were scattered by balloons from south Korea on the hillocks near the barracks and residential area.
Given their clinical characteristics, epidemiological links, and antibody test results, the investigation committee finally corroborated the fact that the Ipho-ri, Kumgang County, Kangwon Province which borders with south Korea is the very place where the malignant virus first made its way into our country and that such an inflow was caused by contact with leaflets and other objects contaminated by the airborne virus from south Korea.
The rapid spread of COVID-19 in our country was started between late April and early May. The area which recorded the most severe cases and high mortality rate was Kangwon Province. The areas bordering with China and Russia including North Pyongan Province and North Hamgyong Province had few fever cases at the outset of COVID-19 and were belatedly confirmed to have the infectious cases.
All the above points indicate that, for our country with the well-established and the most strict border closure and anti-epidemic quarantine system in the world, the only uncontrolled channel of virus inflow was the scattering of objects by airborne balloons from south Korea.
Taking into serious consideration of the possible negative impact of the above- mentioned findings on inter-Korean relations, the State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters of the DPRK, together with other competent authorities, have reexamined and reaffirmed the findings over and over again through several channels, though such was an objective fact confirmed beyond doubt in a scientific manner. However, the results always pointed at the same conclusion.
It is an internationally-accepted scientific view that surface of object must be thoroughly disinfected as there is a possibility that the novel corona virus can be transferred not only through air but also by contact with an object. In May 2020, WHO published a report that it was confirmed that the novel corona virus can survive up to 7 days on the surface of face mask, 4 days on stainless steel and 2 days on glass. It underlined the importance of disinfection of surface given the fact that possible infection by corona virus through contact with object cannot be excluded. According to the data released across the world from February to March 2022, omicron virus survived as long as 6.4~9.8 days on plastics(8.1 days on average), 7 days on stainless steel and the surface of glass, 2 days on fabrics and 30 minutes on paper. In Mach 2022, a south Korean press agency reported that prestigious university research institutes in France, Japan and Hong Kong confirmed on a scientific basis that stealth omicron virus can survive on the surfaces of objects as many as 2~5 times longer than the original virus and other strains like alpha, beta, gamma and delta. University of Michigan announced that virus was detected on 1.4 percent of specimens after totally analyzing more than 500 specimens of surfaces this year. Prestigious scholars of the U.S. including a professor at Virginia Institute of Technology asserted that the spread of virus through surfaces and hands should be prevented by hand washing, warning against the danger of virus spread through surface. Notably, from the end of Mach to the beginning of April 2022, Beijing, Shaoxing of Zhejiang Province, Changzhou of Jiangsu Province and Dalian of Liaoning Province, China carried out an investigation into the infectious people locally confirmed positive to stealth omicron virus. As a result, they affirmed that the virus was transmitted through imported clothing from south Korea, and took measures to strengthen quarantine and disinfection on the goods imported from south Korea.
More serious thing is the fact that the defectors from the north in south Korea, with the tacit approval and encouragement of the present south Korean authorities, let loose more than 30 large balloons in only April and June to scatter hundreds of thousands of leaflets and dirty things into our territory, openly insisting that the novel coronavirus should be transmitted to the north Korea.
The above-mentioned facts prove that the spread of COVID-19 through objects is not a negligible or unproven hypothesis as asserted by the south Korean authorities, but a thoroughly scientific and objective truth. They also prove that the cause of the recent spread of stealth omicron virus in our country and in the neighboring countries is none other than south Korea.
Even if the possibility of COVID-19 infection through the surface of objects is 0.001%, a single case of the malignant virus infection or a piece of contaminated object can infect numerous people in an instant, creating serious anti-epidemic crises. This is a clear-cut fact which cannot be refuted.
When we consider for this objective reality, the flying of filthy things contaminated with malignant virus into our territory by south Korea cannot be construed otherwise than inhumane barbarity and a kind of biochemical weapon attack which cannot be imagined by the same nation.
Despite all these facts, the south Korean authorities insist that the possibility of getting infected from the things spread through balloons is almost zero. Instead, like a guilty party filing the suit first, they say that we are trying to take this issue as a pretext for provocation against south Korea, and they continue to incite the defectors from the north to scatter leaflets and things.
If we further tolerate such barbarity by the south Korean authorities, COVID-19 would possibly inflow into our territory again which will drive the inter-Korean relations to acute state of confrontation and invite unimaginable serious consequences for the situation on the Korean peninsula and its surrounding region.
We expect the international society treasuring justice and conscience to raise its voice of condemnation against the south Korean authorities for their anti-national and inhumane acts, and strongly urge them to acknowledge their responsibility and punish those responsible and not to send again dirty things into the territory of the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea.
(DPRK)
