The North Korean soldier who was shot several times when he dramatically defected earlier this month had hepatitis B when he crossed the DMZ, doctors who operated on the 24-year-old.
As the soldier, identified only by his surname, Oh, recovers in a South Korean hospital, he has been watching the action driving flick ‘The Transporter’ and forensic whodunnit ‘CSI’, and can’t get enough of K-Pop, doctors say.
But the hepatitis B and the parasites – some as long as 27 centimeters (more than 10 inches) – found in his body highlight nutrition and hygiene problems that experts say have plagued North Korea for decades.
‘In my over 20 year-long career as a surgeon, I have only seen something like this in a textbook,’ Lee Cook-Jong, Oh’s surgeon, told reporters two days after the soldier defected on November 13.
Surgeon Lee Cook-jong stands next to a mannequin showing where the North Korean soldier had been struck by bullets
Doctor Lee Guk-jong said the North Korean soldier who defected across the heavily guarded border was riddled with parasites, some as long as 10 inches
David Heymann, an infectious disease epidemiology professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told CNN that hepatitis B can be an indication of poor sterilization in hospitals.
‘Hepatitis B is mainly transmitted either through unsterilized needles or syringes … or by sexual activity,’ he said of the infection, which is a high risk factor for liver cancer.
A study from Dankook University College of Medicine in South Korea in 2015 found that of 169 defectors, one in ten of the subjects had hepatitis B.
Of the 17 female subjects who provided stool samples, seven had parasites.
Intestinal worms are typically transferred through contact with feces or unwashed hands.
At a briefing on Wednesday, lead surgeon Lee Cook-jong displayed photos showing dozens of flesh-coloured parasites – including one 27 cm (10.6 in) long – removed from the wounded soldier’s digestive tract during a series of surgeries to save his life.
‘Although we do not have solid figures showing health conditions of North Korea, medical experts assume that parasite infection problems and serious health issues have been prevalent in the country,’ said Choi Min-Ho, a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine who specialises in parasites.
North Korea is accused violating an armistice agreement after its soldiers fired across the line that divides North and South Korea while chasing after a defecting North Korean solider (pictured, making a dash across between the two Koreas)
The soldier is seen in the video approaching the ‘Bridge of No Return’, which crosses the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) between North Korea and South Korea
Once the soldier reaches the foot of the bridge (far right) and past the guard post, he picks up speed and makes a mad dash across the border in a Korean People’s Army (KPA) Jeep
Oh’s condition was ‘not surprising at all considering the North´s hygiene and parasite problems,’ he said.
As Oh recovers, he has been captivated by American crime dramas and action movies since he woke up in the hospital, his doctor said on Wednesday.
‘We began turning on the television and playing music for him since yesterday’ to help with his recovery, doctor Lee told reporters.
The television remains fixed on a 24-hour movie channel as the local news could upset the patient, Lee said, and added: ‘He enjoys movies and American TV series like ‘CSI’.’
Oh made his dash over the border at the Panmunjom truce village on November 13.
He is believed to be an army staff sergeant who was stationed in the Joint Security Area in the United Nations truce village of Panmunjom, according to Kim Byung-kee, a lawmaker of South Korea’s ruling party, briefed by the National Intelligence Service.
Footage that emerged Wednesday showed his former comrades opening fire at him as he raced on foot over the painted line that divides the two countries.
The solider was seen driving his Jeep past checkpoints manned by North Korean guards (pictured) before crashing his vehicle into a ditch and fleeing on foot
The soldiers rush down the stairs of the Joint Security Area and to the site of the Jeep collision
After accidentally crashing his vehicle into a ditch, the soldier flees on foot towards the MDL (pictured)
This map shows where the North Korean soldier crashed his video and where he collapsed after crossing the MDL
He was shot at least four times in his daring bid, and was found by South Korean troops slumped in a pile of leaves just south of the border.
After being dragged to safety, he was airlifted to hospital, where he underwent two rounds of emergency surgery.
Oh showed signs of depression and possible trauma when he woke up in the hospital. Continuing stress made the soldier hesitant to talk, but he had been cooperative, doctors said.
The patient first recovered consciousness on Sunday, and asked where he was in South Korea, Lee said. He was in ‘agony’ when he came to, the surgeon added.
Lee said he has so far avoided asking his patient personal questions, but glimpses of life in the hermit state emerged as they watched ‘The Transporter’ together, a 2002 thriller about a mercenary delivery driver.
‘When he saw Jason Statham drive really fast, he told me that he used to drive,’ Lee said, suggesting it may have been connected to his role in the North Korean military.
Movies and pop music dominate their conversations, Lee said, stressing that his patient ‘really likes girl bands’.
He has listened to the song ‘Gee’ by South Korean girl group Girls’ Generation.
Although Oh shares some interests with his counterparts in the wealthy, capitalist South, there are key differences, said Lee.
‘His skin is quite different from South Korean males who are the same age. When I shook his hand, the skin was as hard as a washing board,’ Lee said.
Oh is currently drinking only water, but is recovering well, the doctor said, adding he expects his patient to leave intensive care this weekend.
North Korea has not commented on the defection.
On average more than 1,000 North Koreans defect to the South every year, but most travel via China and numbers have fallen since Kim Jong Un came to power in 2011.
It is unusual for a North Korean to cross the land border dividing the two Koreas. They have been in a technical state of war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
The last time a North Korean soldier had defected across the JSA was in 2007.