[Rebroadcast] North Korea’s Healthcare System: John Grundy

Even before the coronavirus became the top headline news in the United States, North Korea responded to the outbreak of the infectious disease in China by sealing its borders. North Korea has not yet reported any cases of the coronavirus - but five North Koreans reportedly died on the Sino-North Korean border from symptoms similar to the coronavirus - there are also reports that a North Korean in Pyongyang may have contracted the virus as well.

 

At this moment, how prepared is North Korea’s healthcare system to combat this new infectious disease? We bring you an episode of the Korean Kontext from 2017 where we sat down with Dr. John Grundy who has field experience examining North Korea’s medical facilities - and had written a paper for KEI on the history of the country’s healthcare system. 

 

You can find Dr. Grundy’s 2017 paper for KEI, "History, International Relations, and Public Health: The Case of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 1953-2015" here: 

http://keia.org/sites/default/files/publications/koreaseconomy_ch8_history_international_relations.pdf

 

Please also find KEI Senior Director Troy Stangarone’s Peninsula Blog article on why the U.S. government should help North Korea combat the coronavirus here: 

http://blog.keia.org/2020/02/united-states-can-help-north-korea-coronavirus/