With North Korea anxious to establish diplomatic relations with Western nations, especially the U.S., the world finally has some leverage that, Vollertsen argues, it isn't using. But if you apply pressure, they will respond. Now is the chance. If Vollertsen wants to make noise, it is because his experiences were so deeply unsettling. North Korea's population has been weakened by years of famine and malnutrition, and diseases like tuberculosis are flourishing.
Medical care is below basic.
Hospitals lack the money to buy even rudimentary supplies. Many local doctors were trained in the former East Germany, but few know of the recent advances in medicine. Operations without an anesthetic are the norm. At one hospital, the leg bone of a man who had been hit by a car became badly infected with bacteria. There were no antibiotics.