Mick Hartley

It's possible that North Korea may be the country most seriously affected by the Wuhan coronovirus. Not so much because of the spread of the disease there – though that shouldn't be underestimated, given that there've already been several suspected coronavirus infections, and North Korea is not, to put it mildly, well-equipped to deal with such a serious health emergency – but more because of the economic consequences, as Pyongyang shuts down all contact. From the Daily NK:

North Koreans are complaining that their government’s shutdown of trade over the Sino-North Korean border due to fears over the Wuhan coronovirus is causing even more economic distress than international sanctions, Daily NK sources reported yesterday.

“People have long complained about the difficulties caused by international sanctions, but not to the extent I’m hearing now,” a source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Feb. 5. “The shutdown of the border has halted all official and non-official trade over the border and has caused commodity prices to skyrocket.”

Daily NK recently reported that the prices of some commodities and exchange rates have spiked in Sinuiju following the border shutdown.

“There’s nothing but a depressing atmosphere in local markets,” the source continued, adding, “People have lived under the difficulties of sanctions for years, but now they’re worried that they are going to die of starvation.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is still calling for “self-reliance” and increasing the local manufacturing of goods and technologies, but Daily NK sources said that North Korea has long imported most of its food and raw materials from China….

Another source in North Hwanghae Province told Daily NK that people are on the edge of “death” because of the border closure. He added that North Koreans are using their mobile phones to spread rumors around the country saying that the closing of the border has had a worse effect on the economy than international sanctions.

“North Korean authorities consider [such rumors] to be groundless and treats those who spread them as enemies of the state,” the source said. “Orders have come down to severely punish those who spread such rumors.”

Many businesses in North Korea have halted operations because of international sanctions, but now with the cutoff of raw materials from China, those businesses that were still operating are under more pressure to shutdown, Daily NK sources said….

North Korean authorities are also reportedly trying to eliminate smuggling across the border as part of efforts to prevent an outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus.

“Before the border shutdown, Chinese ships would unload their goods at either Sinuiju or other ports near the mouth of the Yalu River,” the source said. “Now, however, the coast guard has been ordered to shoot anybody anywhere if they try to stop their ships on the coast.”