(WASHINGTON) — The China Eastern Airlines plane crash that killed 132 people is believed to have been caused by an intentional act, according to U.S. officials who spoke to ABC News.
The Boeing 737-800 passenger jet was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou on March 21 when it plunged into a mountainous area in Guangxi, China. All 123 passengers and nine crew members were killed.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news.
The officials who spoke to ABC News point to the plane’s flaps not being engaged and landing gear not put down. The near-vertical descent of the plane, they believe, would’ve required intentional force.
The plane slammed into the ground with such force that it created a 66-foot deep hole in the ground, according to Chinese officials.
Investigators also looked into the pilot’s personal life and background and believe he may have been struggling through certain issues right before the crash, ABC News has learned.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said all information on the investigation will come from their counterparts in the Civil Aviation Administration of China, but regulators and Boeing have not flagged any mechanical issues. Sources said Chinese investigators also haven’t flagged any mechanical issues.
“The NTSB will not be issuing any further updates on the CAAC’s investigation of the China Eastern 5735 crash,” the NTSB said in a statement. “When and whether CAAC issues updates is entirely up to them. And I haven’t heard anything about any plans for them to do so.”
The first black box, the cockpit voice recorder, was found on March 23, while the flight data recorder was found March 27.
ABC News’ Mark Osborne contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Hundreds of Iranians have taken to the streets in cities across the country, protesting against the crippling political and economic situation. Unofficial reports say security forces have killed at least four people.
Coming from all walks of life, protestors shout slogans that target the top officials of the clerical system, including the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Ebrahim Raisi.
The internet in the cities with ongoing protests is either cut or partially throttled by the government in an attempt to control the spreading of the news.
The unrest started after the government cut subsidies on essential food items such as cooking oil, eggs and milk last Wednesday. For example, the price of cooking increased more than 400% overnight from 336,700 rials, or nearly US$8, to 1,420,000 rials, or US$33 — US$1 is about 42,350 rials.
However, dominant slogans in the protests like “Down with Khamenei, Down with dictator” and “We don’t want mullah’s ruling” indicate that protesting the ailing economy follows another primary demand: overthrowing the system.
“The establishment suffers from lack of legitimacy,” Mohammad Mosaed, a dissident journalist in exile, told ABC News. “It has failed to fulfill the promises it made 43 years ago like freedom and justice.”
Mosaed had to leave Iran after another series of protests in November 2019.
With hundreds of people killed and thousands arrested, the nationwide protests in 2019 were the deadliest since the Islamic revolution in 1979. The exact number of killings still remains unknown due to the strict censorship of the media and cutting off the whole country’s internet for 10 days. Those protests also started after fuel went up three times its cost and soon spread all around the country, especially in small cities.
“The current protests are similar to those in 2019 as they are not bound to Tehran that has a bigger middle-class population, but are rather spread all over the country, especially in smaller towns which are economically deprived,” Mosaed said.
Iran’s state media has repeatedly blamed the West’s economic sanctions for the hardship the country faces. They are the sanctions that mainly aim to restrict Iran’s nuclear program.
In 2015, Iran committed to restricting its nuclear program in return for the West’s commitment to easing the sanctions in a deal with the world powers known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). However, in May 2018, then-President Donald Trump pulled out of the pact, leaving it a matter of renegotiation. Four years later, after rounds of talks, the process of reviving the JCPOA is still stalled due to disagreements among the negotiation parties — the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K., Russia and China.
However, unlike the Islamic Republic’s blame narrative, many believe Western sanctions are not the only reason or even the main reason for the situation.
“The recent crippling situation resulted from having totally incompetent leaders for years, widespread corruption, and then the sanctions,” Mosaed said.
After four decades of giving several chances to different parties to lead the country, Mosaed believes that more and more people are coming to the understanding that the incompetency and corruption of the leaders must be the main subject of the protests.
“These people used to form up the main body of the establishment’s loyal patrons, and now the former patrons have turned to fierce protestors,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
May 17, 6:26 pm
State Department ‘confident’ in NATO expansion
As Turkey becomes more vocal about its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, the State Department said it is still assured of the alliance’s unified support for the two prospective members.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a briefing Tuesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken came away from meetings with NATO allies with a “sense of confidence there was strong consensus for admitting Finland and Sweden into the alliance if they so choose to join, and we’re confident we’ll be able to preserve that consensus.”
Price said that assessment came from what Blinken heard in conversations behind closed doors.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has publicly said that both candidates are untrustworthy because he perceives them as being supportive of groups Ankara views as extremist.
There is speculation that Turkey’s opposition is an attempt to leverage the moment to achieve its own policy goals or concessions from the U.S. Price said Tuesday that Turkey has not made any specific requests.
Price confirmed that Blinken will meet with his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of the U.N. on Wednesday, adding that “other conversations are ongoing between and among current NATO allies and potential aspirant countries.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
May 17, 2:22 pm
Finland, Sweden to jointly submit applications for NATO membership on Wednesday
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s office announced Sweden and Finland will jointly submit an application for NATO membership on Wednesday, after she met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Stockholm.
“It is a message of strength and a clear signal that we stand united going into the future,” Andersson said in a joint press conference with the Finnish president.
The two leaders are set to meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday.
The two countries have stepped away from nonalignment in the wake of Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, and fears for their own security.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 17, 2:11 pm
ICC sends 42 investigators to Ukraine
The International Criminal Court deployed a team of 42 investigators forensic and support personnel to Ukraine to advance investigations into crimes falling under ICC jurisdiction and provide support to Ukrainian authorities.
“This represents the largest ever single field deployment by my office since its establishment,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said Tuesday.
Khan said 21 countries have offered to send national experts to his office and 20 states have committed to provide financial contributions.
“I look forward to working with all actors, including survivor groups, national authorities, civil society organisations and international partners, in order to accelerate this collective work moving forward,” Khan said.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 17, 1:33 pm
US commerce secretary says export controls on Russia are working
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters Tuesday that the export controls the U.S. and other countries have put on Russia are working, including compliance from China.
“These export controls are having a strong and significant effect,” Raimondo said Tuesday.
Raimondo returned from Paris where she co-chaired the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council Ministerial Meeting. She said there was consensus and partnership amongst countries with respect to cutting off Russia’s access to “critical technologies.”
“We’ve had extensive discussions on export controls,” she said.
The Commerce Department and 37 other countries have limited semiconductor chips that can be exported to Russia, which help not only everyday Russian carmakers, but the Russian military build and use military equipment.
“You’ve all heard the anecdotal stories of Russia’s inability to continue to produce tanks and auto companies shutting down but overall U.S. exports to Russia have decreased over 80%, between February and a week ago,” she said. “So we essentially stopped sending high tech to Russia, which is what they need for their military.”
Even China, Raimondo said, stopped shipping tech products such as laptops to Russia by 40% compared to a year ago.
Asked whether she trusts the Chinese data, Raimondo said it is “consistent” with what the Ukrainians are seeing on the ground.
“We are not seeing systematic efforts by China to go around our export controls,” she said. “So yes, I think this is probably quite accurate.”
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
May 17, 9:20 am
Biden to meet with leaders of Sweden, Finland as they seek to join NATO
President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland at the White House on Thursday as the two countries seek to join NATO, the White House announced Tuesday.
The three leaders will “discuss Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO applications and European security,” according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Photo by Russian Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Ukraine’s military has ended its combat mission in the city of Mariupol and hundreds of Ukrainian fighters are being taken by bus to Russian-controlled territory after nearly three months of heavy fighting in the port city. Russia began its attacks on the city in early March.
The Ukrainians and Russians struck a deal to exchange badly injured soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol for Russian prisoners of war, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar told a Ukrainian TV station.
Mariupol’s mayor confirmed that a cease-fire remains in place in the port city.
The Ukrainian military ordered remaining troops who had been sheltering beneath the Azovstal steel factory to focus on efforts to save the lives of their personnel.
More than 260 Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated through a humanitarian corridor, some of whom were injured, according to Ukraine’s defense minister.
Malyar said that 53 wounded soldiers are being transported from Azovstal to Novoazovsk where they will receive immediate medical attention.
“About Azovstal, we hope that we’ll manage to save their lives. There are seriously injured among them. I want to stress that we need our defenders alive. The operation to rescue them was launched by our military. We work on getting them home and this work demands delicacy and time,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address.
Another 211 Ukrainian fighters were accompanied by Russian forces from Azovstal to Olenivka in rebel-held Donetsk, where they will be part of the exchange for Russian prisoners of war.
“As a part of an exchange deal, 50 wounded were evacuated from Azovstal to Novoazovsk. Negotiations are underway for them to be transferred to Zaporozhzhya,” another source told ABC News, confirming the exchange.
Russia’s state-run TASS reported that Russia’s defense ministry confirmed an agreement was reached on Monday to evacuate wounded Ukrainian troops from the plant and transport them to a medical facility in Novoazovsk to “provide them with all the necessary assistance.”
The Russian defense ministry on Tuesday said 265 Ukrainian militants have laid down arms and surrendered, including 51 who are seriously wounded. All those in need of medical assistance were sent for treatment to a hospital in Novoazovsk, Donetsk People’s Republic.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
May 17, 9:20 am
Biden to meet with leaders of Sweden, Finland as they seek to join NATO
President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland at the White House on Thursday as the two countries seek to join NATO, the White House announced Tuesday.
The three leaders will “discuss Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO applications and European security,” according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
(WASHINGTON) — Reversing a decision by predecessor Donald Trump, President Joe Biden has approved a Pentagon request to redeploy several hundred American troops to Somalia for what the National Security Council calls “a persistent U.S. military presence” there as part of counterterrorism efforts.
The move will reestablish an open-ended mission in Somalia assisting the country in its fight against al-Shabab, a local al-Qaida affiliate.
The group once ruled Somalia and has been seeking to regain territorial control over parts of the country. It has carried out overseas terror attacks in Kenya, including in January 2020 when three Americans died in an assault targeting a U.S. base.
The Biden administration believes the move will “enable our partners to conduct a more effective fight against al-Shabab, which is al-Qaida’s largest, wealthiest, and deadliest affiliate and poses a heightened threat to Americans in East Africa,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said Monday.
A senior administration official told reporters later Monday that the number of U.S. troops returning to Somalia would be “under 500” and that they would continue with the same mission of training Somalia’s military and assisting local forces on counterterrorism missions. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed on Monday afternoon that “our forces are not now nor will they be directly engaged in combat operations.”
The Pentagon is still evaluating when the return of forces will take place, in consultation with the Somali government.
“This is a repositioning of forces already in theater who have travelled in and out of Somalia on an episodic basis since the previous administration made the precipitous decision to withdraw at the end of 2020,” Watson, the NSC spokeswoman, said.
“The decision to reintroduce a persistent presence was made to maximize the safety and effectiveness of our forces and enable them to provide more efficient support to our partners,” Watson added.
In December 2020, near the end of his presidential term, Trump ordered the withdrawal of the nearly 750 U.S. troops in Somalia as part of a broader strategy to further reduce the troop presence in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. Trump had committed to ending what he labeled “forever wars.”
His draw-down decision ended a longterm presence of U.S. special operations troops that had been assisting the Somali military against al-Shabab. Since then, American personnel have been rotating into Somalia on temporary training missions lasting up to a few months.
President Biden’s decision to recommit forces there will allow troops to again stay in an open-ended posture against al-Shabab, according to the administration. The new presence will end the “in and out” rotation implemented after Trump’s decision, the senior Biden official told reporters Monday.
The official contrasted the troop deployment with President Trump’s decision to remove forces, calling the earlier draw-down “irrational because it created unnecessary and elevated risk to forces as they moved in and out of the country on a rotational basis.”
The official added that “it gave us less payoff for incurring that risk because it disrupted their efficacy and consistency of their work with partners.”
The senior official framed the decision as part of the administration’s global counterterrorism effort that also focuses on prioritizing limited resources against “the most dangerous and ascendant threats.”
“In a world in which we must prioritize how we approach global counterterrorism, al-Shabab is a notable priority given the threat it poses,” the official said — both in Somalia and overseas.
The official highlighted federal charges against a Somali man whom authorities claim was taking flight lessons in the Philippines for a 9/11-style attack on an American city. The suspect, Cholo Abdi Abdullah, has pleaded not guilty.
“It was a mistake to withdraw forces in 2020,” Mick Mulroy, an ABC News contributor who served as a deputy assistant secretary of Defense and is also a veteran of operations in Somalia, told ABC News.
“Remote training was not practical enough to stem the expansion of Al Shabaab or collect on threats coming from this terrorist organization,” he said.
“Today’s decision to send special operations forces back into the country to work with our key partners and the newly chosen president, who is very familiar with our operations from his previous time as president, was the right one,” Mulroy said.
HENRIK MONTGOMERY/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Sweden will apply to formally join NATO, following in the footsteps of neighboring Finland, the country’s prime minister said, ending long-held positions of neutrality in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The best for our country’s security is that Sweden applies for membership in NATO and that we do it now together with Finland,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Monday. “And following today’s debate in Parliament, the government is ready to make a decision about an application. That will be the starting point for a process that includes ratification in all the NATO member’s parliaments and after that, the government will return to Parliament with a proposal for ratification for Swedish membership of NATO.”
“As nonaligned countries, Sweden and Finland have been contributing to stability in our region, but that changed when Russia invaded Ukraine,” she added.
President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland announced their intention to apply for NATO membership on Sunday, with the country’s Parliament expected to endorse the proposal as a formality.
Leaders in both Sweden and Finland had long been expected to apply to join the military alliance, as the war in Ukraine continues to have unintended consequences for Russia by potentially pushing two more of its neighbors into NATO.
Last week, Dmitry Peskov, Russia’s presidential press secretary, said that “another enlargement of NATO does not make our continent more stable and secure.” Peskov reiterated that stance on Monday, saying that although Russia had “no territorial disputes” with Sweden and Finland, unlike in Ukraine, Russia believed it to be a “serious issue” that they are following “very closely.”
Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ann Linde said last week that Finland’s leaders had delivered an “important message,” adding that her country “will decide after the report from the security policy consultations has been presented.”
The Scandinavian countries have long held neutral status when it comes to European conflict. Finland became a neutral country after the Second World War, while Sweden has resisted military alliances long before that.
Yet fears that Russia could do to other non-NATO countries what it has done to Ukraine has sparked a rapid shift in public opinion in both countries, one of which, Finland, shares an 830-mile land border with Russia.
Both could be on the cusp of joining NATO. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has publicly said the Nordic countries would be welcomed into the alliance, however the process could take months once their formal applications have been sent in.
Ahead of any official announcement from both countries for NATO membership, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had previously signed mutual security assurances in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
NATO’s expansion would be yet another unintended consequence for Russia, as they continue to be met with fierce resistance in Ukraine and a more united West than their intelligence assessments anticipated. Part of Russia’s security demands ahead of the invasion in Ukraine included reverting NATO forces to 1997 positions.
Since NATO was founded in 1949, the alliance has expanded to include 30 member countries, including three former Soviet republics, and the inclusion of Sweden and Finland would further expand the alliance’s influence in the Arctic and in the areas around Russia.
Stoltenberg said just days ahead of the invasion “if Kremlin’s aim is to have less NATO on Russia’s borders, it will only get more NATO. And if it wants to divide NATO, it will only get an even more united Alliance.”
This prediction now appears to be coming true — although Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov last month said that NATO is a “tool sharpened for confrontation” and it is “not an alliance that ensures peace and stability” when asked about Sweden and Finland. Experts say the expansion will be evidence of yet another strategic blunder on Russia’s part.
Even as public opinion has shifted, there are still those that opposes NATO membership for the Nordic countries, fearing it would lead to increased tensions with Russia.
“I’m afraid that NATO membership will increase actually the tensions in the Baltic Sea region and also will increase the tensions in Finland, especially regarding the eastern border,” Veronika Honkasalo, one of the few members of Finland’s parliament who doesn’t believe the country should join, told ABC News.
Furthermore, there are concerns that Sweden and Finland could be vulnerable to Russian attacks during the application process, though State Department spokesperson Ned Price moved to reassure both countries last week, saying: “I am certain that we will find ways to address concerns they may have regarding the period between the potential application and the final ratification.”
However, polling reported in both countries appears to show a significant majority are in favor of NATO membership.
“[Putin] has for years said Finland and Sweden joining is a red line,” Charly Salonius-Pasternak, lead researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told ABC News. “He’s managed to drive both Finland and Sweden towards NATO. So I think a massive miscalculation for him, but I think a positive thing for the rest of Europe.”
“It’s very clearly the population that changed its opinion in, say, six months, radically so,” he said, adding that the shift in public opinion had a snowball effect into Sweden, as fears grew about what could happen without the umbrella protection of NATO membership as the war in Ukraine continued.
“Now Russia has gone so far that joining NATO seems to be the only genuine solution here,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 15, 3:45 pm
Video shows bright-burning munitions falling on Azovstal steel plant
A video released Sunday by a pro-Russian separatist commander showed a shower of bright-burning munitions cascading down on the Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where a few hundred Ukrainian fighters remain holed up weeks after the city fell into the hands of Russian forces.
The video shows projectiles bursting into showers of burning matter which then explode on contact with the ground or buildings.
ABC News has not been able to verify the authenticity of the video. Reuters was able to verify the location of the aerial footage to the Azovstal steel plant, but was not able to confirm the date and time the video was taken.
The footage was posted on Telegram by Alexander Khodakovsky, a commander of the pro-Russian self-proclaimed Republic of Donetsk.
“If you didn’t know what it is and for what purpose — you could say that it’s even beautiful,” Khodakovsky said in a message that accompanied the video.
It was not immediately clear what type of munitions were seen in the video.
Khodakovsky could not be reached for comment.
Ukrainian military officials said there was no letup on Sunday in Russia’s bombardment of the steel works plant.
May 15, 3:09 pm
Sweden’s ruling party supports a NATO bid
Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic party announced Sunday that its board has decided to support the historically neutral country’s bid to join NATO.
The party said it will now work to advance Sweden’s application for membership to NATO.
If the application is approved by NATO, the Social Democratic Party said it will express unilateral reservations against the deployment of nuclear weapons and permanent bases on Swedish territory.
“We Social Democrats believe that the best for Sweden’s and the Swedish people’s security is that we join NATO,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said at a news conference Sunday. “This is a decision that was taken after careful deliberations. A position in favor of NATO means that we are prepared to abandon a security policy that Sweden has had in different forms over 200 years.”
Andersson added, “For us Social Democrats it is clear that the military non-alignment has served Sweden well, but our conclusion is that it won’t serve us as well in the future.”
Leaders of Finland, another historically neutral Nordic country, also announced on Sunday that it will also apply for NATO membership.
(NEW YORK) — The first case against a member of the Russian military is set to go to trial on May 18. 21-year-old Russian serviceman Vadim Shishimarin is accused of killing an unarmed Ukrainian civilian in the Sumy region on Feb. 28, according to Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general.
The civilian was a resident of Chupakhivka who was riding a bike on the roadside when he was shot, Venediktova alleged.
Shishmarin is charged with murder and two counts of robbery. He surrendered to Ukrainian law enforcement on the same day and has been a prisoner of war since, Ukrainian prosecutor Andriy Syniuk said.
Shishmarin’s lawyer and a public defender, Viktor Ovsiannikov, refused to disclose his strategy, but said the fact the soldier was following orders does not legally constitute a defense. It’s up to the judges whether to take that under consideration.
The length of the trial will depend on how the defendant will plead, but the prosecution has sufficient proof regardless, Syniuk told ABC News.
Syniuk also said Shishmarin has cooperated throughout the investigation.
Shishimarin is the first member of the Russian military to be facing a criminal trial, Venediktova said in a post on Facebook.
Prosecutor Andriy Syniuk told ABC News that trying this case should set the standard and prove that Ukraine is a country with a rule of law and respect for human rights. He said this case is important and that more hearings will be starting soon.
Three other people are involved in these crimes, but Shishmarin is the only one facing charges for now, according to the prosecutor.
ABC News’ Tatiana Rymarenko contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As North Korea rattles its foreign rivals by escalating shows of firepower, the coronavirus could be attacking the Hermit Kingdom from within.
In a rare admission this week, North Korean state media announced its first COVID-19 cases, including six deaths from the virus and an additional 350,000 infections since April (although experts say those figures are likely much higher.)
After insisting for more than two years that the country was untouched by the global pandemic, its leader Kim Jong Un locked down all cities and counties as part of a “maximum emergency” response, and was spotted wearing a mask for the first time.
Despite the outbreak, North Korea test launched three short-range ballistic missiles this week—evidence of Pyongyang’s commitment to expanding its military arsenal and hardening stance against the West.
While the country has ramped up its nuclear weapons program, its health care system remains under-resourced and ill-equipped to handle an influx of patients. According to the World Health Organization, it’s one of only two countries that has yet to start a COVID-19 vaccine campaign.
Pyongyang has declined assistance even from its close allies, like China, so offers to share vaccines from its sworn enemies are all but certain to prove futile.
The State Department confirmed the U.S. has no plans to give doses to North Korea, but a spokesperson told ABC News “we strongly support and encourage the efforts of U.S. and international aid and health organizations in seeking to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19.”
The spokesperson added that should COVAX — a global initiative to which the U.S. has pledged to donate over 1 billion doses by the end of next year — decide to allocate vaccines to North Korea, the department would support the decision.
However, Pyongyang has yet to accept a single shot from COVAX.
“We urge the DPRK (North Korea) to work with the international community to facilitate the rapid vaccination of its population,” the spokesperson added.
In addition to vaccines, North Korea is believed to lack adequate testing capabilities and anti-viral treatments to treat COVID-19. Its isolation also means it’s likely that very few of its citizens have been previously infected and recovered, giving them some level of immunity.
The capital city hosted a massive military parade late last month that could have contributed to the virus spreading.
President Joe Biden is slated to travel to South Korea and Japan next week, his first trip to the region since entering office. Both North Korea’s nuclear provocations and the added instability the coronavirus might bring to country are likely to be top items on the agenda.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke over the phone with his newly appointed counterpart in South Korea on Friday. According to a readout provided by the State Department, both officials condemned North Korea’s latest missile launches. The South Korean Foreign Ministry also said they discussed the country’s coronavirus outbreak.
