Two years on: Humanitarian consequences of North Korea’s border lockdown



Analysis Two years on: Humanitarian consequences of North Korea’s border lockdown With the return of aid workers to the DPRK nowhere in sight, conditions for the most vulnerable are likely worsening Chad O'Carroll \| Ethan Jewell January 21, 2022 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Eric Lafforgue \| A North Korean woman carrying a skinny boy on her back, North Hwanghae province, Sariwon, North Korea, Sept. 2008 North Korea’s strict border closure and constraints on domestic movement in response to COVID-19 quickly triggered an exodus of humanitarian and U.N. workers. Already a small community at the best of times, the final nongovernmental and U.N. system workers left Pyongyang in March 2021. Little humanitarian cargo has reached the North since the pandemic either, and the one shipment confirmed by UNICEF last year didn’t clear quarantine until earlier this month. Although freight trains appear to have resumed operations at the North Korea-China border for the first time in a year and Read More © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01Military dominates Kim Jong Un’s attention in his busiest year in nearly decade 02How Trump’s return could transform North Korea’s quiet ties with Thailand 03How Assad’s downfall could expose secrets of North Korea-Syria military ties 04All the companies that participated in the Pyongyang Autumn Trade Fair 2024 05No Chinese firms joined North Korea’s latest trade fair dominated by Russia 06What defectors’ exam scores reveal about the quality of North Korean health care 07North Korean Il-76 cargo planes make rare flights to northeast coast 08From aid to academia: The status of foreign organizations in North Korea

Analysis

Two years on: Humanitarian consequences of North Korea’s border lockdown

With the return of aid workers to the DPRK nowhere in sight, conditions for the most vulnerable are likely worsening

Chad O'Carroll | Ethan Jewell January 21, 2022

Two years on: Humanitarian consequences of North Korea’s border lockdown

Eric Lafforgue | A North Korean woman carrying a skinny boy on her back, North Hwanghae province, Sariwon, North Korea, Sept. 2008

North Korea’s strict border closure and constraints on domestic movement in response to COVID-19 quickly triggered an exodus of humanitarian and U.N. workers. Already a small community at the best of times, the final nongovernmental and U.N. system workers left Pyongyang in March 2021.

Little humanitarian cargo has reached the North since the pandemic either, and the one shipment confirmed by UNICEF last year didn’t clear quarantine until earlier this month.

Although freight trains appear to have resumed operations at the North Korea-China border for the first time in a year and

01Military dominates Kim Jong Un’s attention in his busiest year in nearly decade
02How Trump’s return could transform North Korea’s quiet ties with Thailand
03How Assad’s downfall could expose secrets of North Korea-Syria military ties
04All the companies that participated in the Pyongyang Autumn Trade Fair 2024
05No Chinese firms joined North Korea’s latest trade fair dominated by Russia
06What defectors’ exam scores reveal about the quality of North Korean health care
07North Korean Il-76 cargo planes make rare flights to northeast coast
08From aid to academia: The status of foreign organizations in North Korea

Two years on: Humanitarian consequences of North Korea’s border lockdown

LATEST ANALYSIS

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Chad O'Carroll

Ethan Jewell