Article
Environmental Sciences
Sai Qu, Youngryel Ryu, Jiangong Liu, Jonathan A. Wang
Summary: South and North Korea have experienced contrasting economic developments since the 1950s despite sharing similar climates. The greening rate in North Korea over 1986-2017 was almost twice that of South Korea, with the expansion of agricultural facilities in South Korea's cropland being the main cause of the greening discrepancy. CO2 fertilization effects and transitions from grassland to cropland promoted an increase in NDVImax in North Korea, while deforestation led to decreasing NDVImax in forest areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Hyunwoo Cho, Youngmok Park, Jeongjoo Seok, Joon Sup Yeom, Jun Yong Choi, Hee Jin Kim, Young Ae Kang, Jeehyun Lee
Summary: This study used a mathematical model to investigate the impact of control strategies on the burden of tuberculosis in South and North Korea. Active case-finding is expected to result in a significant reduction in burden in both countries.
Article
Development Studies
Cheong-Hoon Baek, Eun-Young Kim, Keum-Sung Park
Summary: The government in North Korea controls the housing market by assigning specific organizations to carry out construction projects, but despite being illegal, housing marketisation still persists due to factors such as insufficient housing supply, activation of markets, and emergence of private investment. Authorities turn a blind eye to marketisation in order to control national housing supply through private capital, leading to corruption and issues with construction quality.
HABITAT INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Yun-Jeong Jeong, Jae Seuk Park, Hyung Woo Kim, Jinsoo Min, Yousang Ko, Jee Youn Oh, Eun Hye Lee, Bumhee Yang, Joong Hyun Ahn, Jin Woo Kim, Yong Il Hwang, Kwang Joo Park, Sung Soon Lee, Ju Sang Kim, Hyeon-Kyoung Koo
Summary: This study aimed to identify the characteristics of subclinical tuberculosis (TB) and important predictors of symptom development. The study found that subclinical TB patients were younger, had a higher body mass index, and chronic lung disease and autoimmune diseases were associated with symptoms.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Hayoung Choi, Kyungdo Han, Jin-Hyung Jung, Sang Hyun Park, Sang Hyuk Kim, Hyung Koo Kang, Jang Won Sohn, Dong Wook Shin, Hyun Lee
Summary: The long-term mortality risk in this study was significantly higher in tuberculosis survivors than those in the matched controls, even after adjusting for potential confounders, including behavior habits, income level, body mass index, and comorbidities.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Han Eol Jeong, Sungho Bea, Ju Hwan Kim, Seung Hun Jang, Hyunjin Son, Ju-Young Shin
Summary: Despite being an important public health issue in South Korea, the risk factors of MDR-TB remain unclear. This study, which included over 50,000 TB patients from South Korea, suggests that immigrants and patients with lower income levels are strong predictors of MDR-TB in a high-income, high TB incidence country.
JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY IMMUNOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Heesung Chong, Seoyoung Lee, Yeseul Cho, Jhoon Kim, Ja-Ho Koo, Yong Pyo Kim, Younha Kim, Jung-Hun Woo, Dha Hyun Ahn
Summary: Due to a lack of reliable data, the air quality in North Korea remains poorly understood. Through multi-year satellite observations, it was found that Pyongyang, Nampo, Pukchang, and Munchon are pollution hotspots in North Korea. From 2005 to 2018, North Korea experienced significantly higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) per unit primary energy supply compared to South Korea.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sangwook Park, Chaegyu Sung, Hangseok Choi, Yeo Wool Lee, Yedham Kang, Hee-Jin Kim, Hae-Young Kim, In-Hwan Oh, Seung Heon Lee
Summary: Active case finding (ACF) identified more tuberculosis cases through chest X-ray screening compared to semi-passive case finding (semi-PCF), and suspected tuberculosis cases were more common in ACF among older individuals and those with family visas. ACF is a cost-effective strategy for tuberculosis screening among immigrants.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Hyung Woo Kim, Jinsoo Min, Joon Young Choi, Ah Young Shin, Jun-Pyo Myong, Yunhee Lee, Hyeon Woo Yim, Hyunsuk Jeong, Sanghyuk Bae, Hoyong Choi, Hyekyung In, Ahyoung Park, Miri Jang, Hyeon-Kyoung Koo, Sung-Soon Lee, Jae Seuk Park, Ju Sang Kim
Summary: The South Korean government launched a national LTBI screening program in 2016, covering over 1.6 million people in congregate settings. This study aims to analyze LTBI prevalence and risk factors in each setting, and investigate the proportion of LTBI pool covered by the current national strategy.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Hyewon Lee, Woojae Myung, Eun-Mi Lee, Hyekyeong Kim, Byung Woo Jhun
Summary: NTM-infected patients had a poorer prognosis compared to TB patients or the general population, especially in cases of NTM and TB coinfection. NTM mortality was associated with specific demographic characteristics, but long-term use of macrolides may provide survival benefits.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Seonyoung Park, Jaese Lee, Jongmin Yeom, Eunkyo Seo, Jungho Im
Summary: Drought has a significant impact on the economy of a region, and its severity is determined by the level of infrastructure in the affected area. This study compared drought indices in North Korea and South Korea to understand the differences in agricultural infrastructure and their impact on drought. The findings suggest that different agricultural systems result in different drought impacts.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
SeungCheor Lee, Moon Jung Kim, Seung Heon Lee, Hae-Young Kim, Hee-Sun Kim, In-Hwan Oh
Summary: In the future, tuberculosis will pose a heavy burden on the aging population in Korea. This study measured DALYs and economic burden on DS-TB and MDR-TB patients from 2014 to 2017 and found that the burden of DS-TB was decreasing while MDR-TB remained burdensome. Additionally, the economic burden was higher for men below the age of 79, but higher for women aged 80 and above.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Business, Finance
Jai S. Mah
Summary: Since the 1990s, the North Korean government has been striving to promote exports and attract foreign direct investment, with China emerging as its largest trade partner and a major player in FDI. However, despite China's dominance in economic relations with North Korea, its contribution to the latter's economic development has been limited, necessitating further optimization of bilateral trade and investment structures.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Ella M. Meumann, Kristy Horan, Anna P. Ralph, Belinda Farmer, Maria Globan, Elizabeth Stephenson, Tracy Popple, Rowena Boyd, Mirjam Kaestli, Torsten Seemann, Koen Vandelannoote, Christopher Lowbridge, Robert W. Baird, Timothy P. Stinear, Deborah A. Williamson, Bart J. Currie, Vicki L. Krause
Summary: The study found a decreasing trend in TB incidence among Indigenous peoples in the Top End of Northern Territory, but a higher mortality rate among them. The use of genomic sequencing technology can help identify TB transmission clusters and reveal connections between cases.
LANCET REGIONAL HEALTH-WESTERN PACIFIC
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Han Eol Jeong, Junyeong Choi, In -Sun Oh, Hyunjin Son, Seung Hun Jang, Sun-Young Jung, Ju-Young Shin
Summary: This study investigated the changes in prescription patterns of anti-TB drugs for patients with TB and MDR-TB in South Korea before and after the release of the national guidelines. The results showed that the prescription patterns aligned well with the WHO's treatment guidelines and domestic guidelines in South Korea.
JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY IMMUNOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2022)