North Korean Resident Crosses South Korean Sea Border to Defect, Yonhap Reports

Representation photo: A small wooden boat, center, is towed into a port in Yangyang, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. (Yonhap via AP)
Representation photo: A small wooden boat, center, is towed into a port in Yangyang, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. (Yonhap via AP)
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North Korean Resident Crosses South Korean Sea Border to Defect, Yonhap Reports

Representation photo: A small wooden boat, center, is towed into a port in Yangyang, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. (Yonhap via AP)
Representation photo: A small wooden boat, center, is towed into a port in Yangyang, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. (Yonhap via AP)

A North Korean resident has crossed the maritime border in the Yellow Sea and defected to South Korea, the Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday, citing South Korea's military.
The resident crossed the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, a contested sea border off the west coast, said Reuters.
South Korea's defense ministry declined to comment when asked about the report.
The number of North Korean defectors arriving in the South had hit an all-time low during the pandemic when Pyongyang moved to tightly seal its borders.



WHO Says Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills 8 in Tanzania

FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
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WHO Says Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills 8 in Tanzania

FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo

The World Health Organization said Wednesday an outbreak of suspected Marburg disease has killed eight people in a remote part of northern Tanzania.
“We are aware of 9 cases so far, including 8 people who have died,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets.
Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease. Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and in some cases death from extreme blood loss. There is no authorized vaccine or treatment for Marburg.
WHO said its risk assessment for the suspected outbreak in Tanzania is high at national and regional levels but low globally. There was no immediate comment from Tanzanian health authorities.
An outbreak of Marburg in Rwanda, first reported on Sept. 27, was declared over on Dec. 20. Rwandan officials reported a total of 15 deaths and 66 cases, with the majority of those affected healthcare workers who handled the first patients.