There are many theories regarding the origin of COVID-19 into a country. But in North Korea, instead of being presented with a more plausible theory, people are made to believe that COVID came from a mysterious foreign object sent by South Korea.
In "emergency instructions" broadcast by KCNA media, North Korea's epidemic prevention center told officials to "vigilously deal with foreign matters coming in by wind and other climatic phenomena as well as balloons in areas along demarcation lines and borders." . In other words, North Korea seems to blame South Korea for sometimes providing assistance through balloons.
"This is typical North Korean propaganda, trying to turn its concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak into fear and hatred of South Korea," North Korean defector and activist Lee Min-bok told the New York Times.
"The regime is afraid of outside news spreading among its people more than anything else," he continued, as reported by IFL Science, Monday (4/7/2022).
KCNA media claimed that the first case of COVID-19 in the North came after an 18-year-old soldier and a five-year-old boy touched a 'mysterious foreign object' in the eastern region of Kumgang in early April. Both later developed symptoms of COVID-19 and later tested positive for the disease.
However, the timing didn't match. KCNA said that the first two cases occurred in early April, but the first time a balloon was sent across the border this year was expected in late April, according to the Guardian report. Once COVID-19 is known to have reached North Korea, balloons sent across the border usually contain medical supplies for relief.
"It's hard to believe North Korea's claims, scientifically, given the probability of spreading the virus through objects is quite low," Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told Reuters.
Compared to balloons, there is something more plausible about the cause of COVID-19 spreading in North Korea. COVID-19 is thought to have entered North Korea after the border lockdown was eased for trade with China. The first reported cases in the North came just months later.