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| People at Seoul Station watch a TV screen showing a news report about a North Korean missile launch, Monday. AP-Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea's long-awaited border opening is not likely to extend to Pyongyang accepting vaccine offers from South Korea or the United States, according to diplomatic observers, Monday.
Additionally, the border opening will not clear the ground for any possible progress in nuclear talks or improvement in inter-Korean ties, they added.
In the wake of China's COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019, the reclusive state quickly closed its borders to prevent the spread of the disease, but the move has been dealing a heavy economic blow to the country.
On Sunday, a North Korean freight train crossed the Yalu River railroad bridge from Sinuiju into China ― the first time that the North open its land border with China in two years ― and the same train is expected to return home with medical supplies and everyday necessities, probably as part of preventive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, raising speculation that Seoul and Washington may find an opportunity to send vaccines into the reclusive state.
Another North Korean freight train crossed a border bridge into the Chinese city of Dandong, Monday, according to diplomatic sources.
South Korea has repeatedly floated unrequited vaccine offers to its northern neighbor, amid relevant negotiations with the U.S as part of efforts to get the deadlocked inter-Korean relations back on track.
"I think that North Korea is likely to reject offers by South Korea or the U.S. to provide COVID-19 vaccines. Rather, it may be okay with vaccine provision from China as well as the global vaccine sharing program, COVAX," said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
During the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee plenary late last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said emergency epidemic prevention work should be made a top priority of the state and it was the most important task to be powerfully conducted with no allowance given to even slight slackness or drawbacks.
Kim also pointed to "firmly preparing the material and technological foundation of the epidemic prevention sector" and "switching our epidemic prevention to an advanced and people-oriented one" as new directions in disease prevention.
"Considering his remarks, North Korea is focused on normalizing damaged trade with foreign countries by opening its borders, and to this end it is now working on acquiring vaccines and antiviral treatments in advance," Hong said.
The Kim regime still claims that no COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the isolated nation, meaning there is no immunity to the disease and therefore the country is highly vulnerable to mass infections when it fully opens its borders.
"Although North Korea needs vaccines and antiviral treatments, it could depend on the global vaccine distribution platform and China, lowering the possibility that South Korea and the U.S. could provide vaccines to the North," Hong said.
Currently, both nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea and inter-Korean ties have been stalled since February 2019 when former U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim failed to reach a nuclear deal at the Hanoi summit.
Some speculated the border opening could pave the way for North Korea to reach out to South Korea or the U.S. for fence-mending.
However, Hong said it had nothing to do with it.
"I think North Korea is separating anti-virus measures from improving ties with South Korea or the U.S.," he said.
"While North Korea is now seeking to earn the right to defend itself by developing tactical weapons, it is strategically unreasonable for it to extend an olive branch to the South or the U.S."
On Monday, North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles eastward, which was the regime's fourth show of force in 2022.
