Mosquitoes from North Korea have become a threat to South Korea. South Korea also issued a nationwide malaria alert this year. Medical experts say climate change, especially the heat and heavy rains in spring, could lead to several diseases, including mosquito-borne malaria, in the region. If the North and South Korean states, which are still technically at war, do not work together, the situation could worsen.
The real issue between the two countries is the Demilitarized Zone or DMZ. It is a four kilometer wide uninhabited strip of land, which runs along the 250 kilometer long common border. Established in 1953 after the ceasefire between the two countries, this area is forested and swampy and there is no human traffic.
Experts say that this landmine-filled border area provides the best environment for mosquitoes to breed. These include the mosquitoes that cause malaria, which can usually travel up to 12 km.
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According to Kim Hyun-woo, a scientist at the National Institute of Disease Control in South Korea, standing water and wildlife provide the mosquitoes with the resources they need to develop their eggs.
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Malaria cases in South Korea increased by nearly 80 percent last year, from 420 in 2022 to 747 in 2023.
Kim Dong-gun, a professor of environmental biology at Sahmyuk University in Seoul, told AFP that due to the increase in the number of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, cases of malaria diagnoses among soldiers stationed in the border area continue to emerge.
Malaria is more common in North Korea than in the South. According to the data of the World Health Organization, there were about 4,500 cases of malaria reported in 2021 and 2022, while the severe poverty and lack of food items in the country may cause further deterioration in this situation.
After escaping from North Korea in 2011, Choi Jung-hun, who now works as a doctor in South Korea, says that the problem of infectious diseases in North Korea is very serious.
Choi added that old equipment, such as outdated microscopes, make it difficult to diagnose malaria promptly and accurately, while malnutrition and contaminated water also make ordinary citizens vulnerable to the disease.
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Severe flooding in North Korea this summer could also worsen the situation in the near future.
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According to Choi, toilets in North Korea are still outside homes in the open. When there is a flood, human waste is also washed away with the water, resulting in the spread of various diseases.
According to official data, the majority of malaria cases in South Korea over the past ten years have been reported from areas close to the demilitarized zone, while other areas have reported very few cases of the disease.
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