Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - After purchasing face masks and ventilators from China in prior months, North Korea unexpectedly ceased...
 |
| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - After purchasing face masks and ventilators from China in prior months, North Korea unexpectedly ceased importing COVID-19 prevention and control products in May, according to trade statistics supplied by Beijing.
Since the isolated government initially announced it was combating a COVID-19 outbreak in mid-May, daily new cases of fever in North Korea have been falling, according to its state news agency, KCNA. However, no information on how many of those instances tested positive for the coronavirus has been released.
According to statistics given by Chinese customs on Monday, North Korea did not import any face masks, thermometers, rubber gloves, ventilators, or vaccines from China in May.
From January to April, China imported more than 10.6 million masks, approximately 95,000 thermometers, and 1,000 non-invasive ventilators.
South Korea and the US have offered assistance, including vaccines, to Pyongyang, but Pyongyang has not reacted.
The World Health Organization said in June that it presumed the situation was becoming worse, not better, because Pyongyang has never directly confirmed how many people had tested positive for the illness.
China's exports to North Korea fell 85.2 percent in May to $14.51 million, down from $98.1 million in April.
Soybeans, granulated sugar, soybean meal, and wheat flour were the most popular exports.
According to Chinese customs records, North Korea purchased $2.97 million worth of soybeans, $2.64 million worth of granulated sugar, $1.49 million worth of soybean meal, and $846,598 worth of wheat flour in May.
Following talks, China's foreign ministry reported on April 29 that cross-border freight train services with North Korea had been discontinued due to COVID-19 infections in its border city of Dandong.
