A mysterious illness dubbed “ghost disease” is spreading near a nuclear testing site in North Korea, a defector claims.
Youngran Lee, who fled the country in 2015, claims children are being born without anuses, toes or hands due to the effects of radiation.
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Youngran lived in Kilju County, near the Punggye-ri testing site, before fleeing North Korea.
She said doctors in the region felt helpless in the face of the mysterious illness affecting children.
Youngran said: “In Kilju County, civilians suffer from illnesses without knowing why.
“In hospitals, doctors are unable to diagnose and patients die slowly from persistent illnesses.
“It’s not too drastic to say that having a child without an anus, toes or hands has been normalized in Kilju.
“There are patients with various types of cancer in every other house.”
It is not the first time that reports of the mysterious “phantom disease” have emerged, with other defectors revealing how residents near Punggye-ri are suffering from radiation exposure. in 2017.
Youngran, who lived so close to the blast zone that his home physically shook during North Korea’s 2013 nuclear test, recalled the detonation.
She said: “On the day the third nuclear test took place, a wall clock fell and the lamps shook. I thought it was an earthquake and ran outside.
“All mine neighbors were also out. Shortly afterwards, at noon, the main broadcasting system announced that the third nuclear test was successful.
“Then we realized that the military-controlled area in Punggye-ri was a testing site.”
Local residents danced in the streets in celebration, but they would be among the first victims of North Korea’s nuclear program.
Youngran said his only son was struck by the phantom disease.
She said that in North Korea, UN-supplied medicines are hoarded by senior government officials and despite the promise of free healthcare, “pharmacy shelves are empty.”
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When her son developed a mild fever in October 2014, at age 27, she turned to black market medicines smuggled from China.
After he was unable to help, Youngran took his son to the hospital.
She said: “A tuberculosis doctor told us that my son had holes in his lungs, measuring between 1.5cm and 2.7cm.
“He also said he did not know why an increasing number of young people were coming to the hospital.
“I couldn’t understand why this had happened to my son and I felt so helpless.
“Additionally, he had eight close friends and they were all diagnosed with tuberculosis one by one from 2012 onwards and died within four years.”
Youngran spent his life savings buying medicine for his son, before fleeing to China in February 2015, hoping to find work to send more money home.
In August of that year, she arrived in South Korea, where she underwent mandatory training to prepare her for life in a free society.
She said: “As soon as I was discharged, I contacted my son to tell him to go to Pyongyang Hospital.
“But the next The next day, he called back and said that there were official instructions to prevent tuberculosis and hepatitis patients from Kilju County from entering Pyongyang.
“The only reason given was that this was for Kim Jong-un’s safety and there was no adequate explanation.”
She continued: “For two years, I transferred money to my son through brokers, believing he was receiving adequate care.
“However, in May 2018, I lost my son, my pride and enjoy.
“My son died without ever reaching the hospital to receive a proper diagnosis.”
How radiation affects the body
Experts believe that radiation is the cause of what is called phantom disease.
Nuclear scientist Joohyun Moon of Dankook University in South Korea described how radiation from underground explosions could reach local communities.
He said: “As the shock waves travel, they break layers of the earth or create cracks.
“After a while, a mixture of molten rock and radioactive material will cool and solidify.
“Radioactive materials contained in this compound can seep into cracks or fissures caused by the explosion and flow to the surface, soil or groundwater.
“If it rains near the test site, the rain can carry these radioactive materials into the groundwater.
“Groundwater is connected to rivers, streams and surface water, releasing these radioactive materials to the outside world.
“As it is part of natural circulation, it is very difficult to intervene and prevent it.”
The effects of radiation and who is most vulnerable
High doses of radiation can be dangerous, causing cancer and even leading to death.
Some people are more vulnerable to the effects of radiation, including:
- Developing fetuses (the most vulnerable)
- Babies
- Children
- The elderly
- Pregnant women
- People with compromised immune systems
The risk of radiation is greatest for young people. This is because they have:
- More cells that divide quickly and tissues that grow
- A longer lifespan ahead, giving cancers more time to develop
At very high doses, radiation can harm the functioning of tissues and organs and produce acute effects such as nausea and vomiting, skin redness, hair loss, acute radiation syndrome, local radiation injuries (also known as radiation burns) or even death.
In a radiological or nuclear emergency, first responders and workers at affected facilities (for example, nuclear power plant workers) are at increased risk of being exposed to doses of radiation high enough to cause acute effects.
The general population, however, is not likely to be exposed to doses high enough to cause these effects.
Dr. Moon said there were several ways for radioactive materials to infiltrate the food chain.
People can drink the irradiated water or eat seafood, eat crops grown with the water, or consume milk or meat from contaminated grass-fed cattle.
The nuclear testing site is on the banks of the Changhung River, which feeds the Namdae River – Kilju County’s main water source.
“All families in Kilju get their water supply from there,” Youngran said.
Dr. Moon estimated that more than a million residents within a 25-mile radius of the test site could be affected.
He stated: “It is safe to say that residents near the test site will be under the influence of radiation for around 200 years.
“The time period will increase if more nuclear tests are carried out at the same location.”
He added: “If the situation continues without adequate protection, these people will be more likely to get cancer, leukemia, chromosomal aberration, etc., than people from other regions.”
Persistent symptoms
Youngran still lives with the damage in South Korea.
She was one of five North Korean defectors from Kilju County tested for radiation in the South in 2016.
She said: “The test showed the exposure level was very high and the white blood cells were very low.
“One member of the group had an unbearable headache – he couldn’t even lift his head, but in all the tests carried out in the emergency room no cause was found.”
Your own condition is no better.
She continued: “I have pain everywhere and can’t walk very well due to pain in my legs, and I’ve been hospitalized six times a year for headaches.
“The hospital didn’t find any reason for this, but I can’t even open my eyes when I have a headache. I feel restless and suicidal.
“I know a lot of people from Kilju who have the same symptoms as me.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
