Further evidence of the paranoia that's gripped Pyongyang over Covid-19:
Amid North Korea’s hardline attempts to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in the country, Daily NK has learned that a Chinese national was recently shot to death by North Korea’s border patrol and a group of Chinese fishermen died when North Korean authorities failed to rescue them while their ship sank.
These two incidents are examples of the excessive responses spawning from the country’s disproportionate levels of vigilance focused on preventing the spread of COVID-19.
A source in China told Daily NK yesterday that a “Chinese national tried to cross a shallow part of the Yalu River near Changbai, Jilin Province, in late March,” but that “he was shot to death [by North Korean border guards] while trying to deliver goods [to someone on the North Korean side].”
The source said that the border guards first fired warning shots in the sky, but then “fired directly on the man when he continued his attempt to cross the river.” […]
The source also told Daily NK about a recent incident involving a Chinese fishing boat that was engaging in illegal fishing near Haeju, South Hwanghae Province.
“The Chinese fishing boat tried to flee after a North Korean patrol boat went from firing warning shots with rubber bullets to live fire,” the source said. “While trying to flee, the boat hit a submerged rock and sunk.”
According to the source, the ship had a total of seven sailors and all of them died in the sinking. “The North Korean patrol boat didn’t even try to save them,” he added.
As part of their “emergency quarantine guidelines,” North Korean authorities have completely “locked down” all air, sea and land routes in and out of the country while strongly prohibiting any outsiders from crossing the nation’s borders. These guidelines may have been what stopped the patrol boat from rescuing the Chinese sailors.
Or it could be that North Korea just places a low value on human life generally.
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