Russian diplomats leave North Korea with hand-pushed railway cart due to Covid-19 restrictions

North Korea’s borders have been effectively blocked for months as part of Kim Jong Un’s regime’s efforts to keep Covid-19 at bay, blocking the few diplomats operating inside Pyongyang. North Korean state-owned airline Air Koryo has been operating flights from Vladivostok in eastern Russia, but those flights have been suspended for months.

The journey began by train. The Russians spent 32 hours traveling on North Korea’s old, poorly maintained and notoriously slow rail system. Then they took the bus for two hours to the border, where the families had to order a railway cart for their luggage and push it the rest of the way.

The embassy posted two photos of Third Secretary Vladislav Sorokin pushing his family and luggage along the railroad tracks while wearing thick winter clothes. The youngest of the crew was Sorokin’s 3-year-old daughter, Varya.

Sorokin had to push the cart for a kilometer (0.6 miles), part of which included a bridge over the Tumen River that separates Russia from North Korea.

Once the family arrived at the Russian station Khasan, they were greeted by colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who helped them get to Vladivostok airport.

Additional insulation

The departure of the Sorokin family and other Russian diplomats means that the already small expat community in Pyongyang, a valuable source of information about one of the most secluded and secretive countries in the world, is shrinking even more.

Diplomats, aid workers and NGO staff have chosen to leave North Korea, rather than risk being blocked because of the country’s inflexible and strict border controls. Foreigners who have chosen to stay in North Korea have described a worsening situation in Pyongyang, grocery stores are running out of food and people are losing their jobs, according to Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora.

North Korea has decided to sever almost all ties with the outside world in 2020 to prevent an influx of coronavirus cases. Experts believe Kim made the decision because she acknowledges that her country’s deteriorating health care system is overwhelmed by an outbreak.

Matsegora said imports into North Korea have stopped almost completely since the devastating typhoons hit the Korean Peninsula in September. “The North Korean leader openly acknowledged that there is no complete medical infrastructure here that meets modern requirements and can address this issue,” he said in an interview with Russian news agency Interfax.

Kim’s strategy seems to have worked in terms of public health. North Korea has not reported a major outbreak of Covid-19 and there has been no indication that it has occurred, although experts doubt Pyongyang’s claim that the country has not seen any cases of the virus.

Lack of food

“Life has not been easy for us in Pyongyang,” Matsegora said. “Over the months of self-isolation, the stock available on the shelves has fallen to a minimum. It is a challenge to buy even basic goods such as pasta, flour, vegetable oil and sugar and there are no decent clothes or shoes. If you can buy something , usually costs three or four times more than before the crisis “.

Matsegora’s comments were surprising, given that North Korea enjoys closer relations with Russia than with almost any other country except China. While Kim and other North Korean leaders have acknowledged that the country’s economy is suffering from the virus, they have not admitted that the food supply is strained.

WFP spokesman Kun Li said the organization “does not cease operations” in North Korea, but has faced challenges faced by many industries during the pandemic.

“Our work has never stopped. Despite the challenges of providing food aid and supplies due to Covid-19 isolation measures, in 2020, we brought limited food; and we reached over 500,000 people, including women and children. vulnerable, with food and nutritional assistance, “Li said in a statement. “Our work continues through our national staff in Pyongyang and the international staff from where it has its temporary headquarters.”