Tuberculosis is one of the most prevalent diseases in North Korea. Despite some positive accomplishments by current aid projects, it is still necessary to investigate the existing aid system. The following are necessary for improvement: sustaining a high degree of expertise, cooperation among various related parties including the international community, mediation to induce this cooperation, a ...

Changing patterns of the reemerging Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during the period 1993 to 2005 are briefly analyzed with emphasis on the control measures used and the effects of meteorological and entomological factors. Data were obtained from the Communicable Diseases Monthly Reports published by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and webpa...

North and South Korea have both experienced demographic transition and fertility and mortality declines. The fertility declines came later in North Korea. In 1990, the population was 43.4 million in South Korea and 21.4 million in North Korea and the age and sex compositions were similar. This evolution of population structure occurred despite differences in political systems and fertility dete...

OBJECTIVES The spatial and temporal correlations were estimated to determine Plasmodium vivax malarial transmission pattern in Korea from 2001-2011 with the hierarchical generalized linear model. METHODS Malaria cases reported to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2001 to 2011 were analyzed with descriptive statistics and the incidence was estimated according to age, se...

Although several reports about drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in North Korea have been published, a nationwide surveillance on this disease remains to be performed. This study aims to analyze the drug resistance patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among the patients in the sanatoria of North Korea, especially during the period when second-line drugs (SLDs) had not yet been officially suppl...

OBJECTIVE This study aims to provide the information of the stigmas of mental illness such as psychosis, alcoholism, attempt suicide, and depression among North Korean defectors. METHODS We examined stigma for the mental illnesses of 639 North Korean defectors aged 19 to 65 years who live in the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees. The stigmas of mental illnesses were assessed...

This article argues that North Korea can achieve an economic catch-up after decades of economic isolation and stagnation by promoting an economic opening focused on foreign trade and investment in a sustained manner. An analogy is been made with the case of Fujian Province in China, which has accomplished economic catch-up, mainly due to Taiwanese investments. To realise its potential, it is ar...

According to most criteria, North Korea would be classified as a failing state. More often than not the country’s destiny has been predicted as collapse, chaos, and in the end, absorption by South Korea. However, so far the Kim Jong-il regime proved viable and cultivated the art to survive within a globalizing world without opening up. More recently, North Korean authorities appeared to revive ...

North Korean defectors who settle in South Korea have experienced severe food shortage and transition of food environment which could affect their health status. However, little is known about their anthropometric measurements and dietary intake after settlement in South Korea. The purpose of this study is to compare anthropometric measurements and dietary intake between North Korean young adul...

a Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60607-7022, USA b School of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 136-713, Korea c School of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713, Korea d Department of Environmental Science & Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Se...