Ponghwa Clinic

Ponghwa Clinic
Ponghwa Clinic
North Korean Ministry of Public Health
Geography
Location	Sinwŏn-dong, Potonggang-guyok, Pyongyang,, North Korea
Organisation
Type	Hospital for political elite
Services
Emergency department	Yes
Helipad	Yes
History
Former name(s)	Government Hospital or the Bonghwa Clinic
Construction started	1968 to 1971
Opened	1971
Links
Lists	Hospitals in North Korea

The Ponghwa Clinic and Hospital(봉화진료소)[nb 1] is a hospital located in Sinwŏn-dong, Potonggang-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea, and is believed to be one of the top hospitals in North Korea, treating members of the political elite.[2][3][4] It is administered by the Ministry of Public Health.[5]

History

Construction on the clinic began in 1968, on orders from Kim Il Sung.[6] The Clinic opened in 1971.[7] The clinic underwent a series of expansions in 2003-2005 and 2009–2010.[8]

Patients

Access to Ponghwa is restricted to members of North Korea's political elite, and the existence of the hospital is secret within North Korea.[9][10]

Facilities

The Clinic has a helipad.[10]

It is reportedly one of the few hospitals in North Korea capable of performing complex surgeries.[11]

The ruling Kim family reportedly have a private wing for their healthcare requirements.

Weapons of mass destruction

The Clinic has been linked to the biological warfare program of North Korea.[5][12]

Notes

Alternatively known as the Government Hospital or the Bonghwa Clinic[1]

References

Worden, Robert L. (21 April 2011). North Korea: A Country Study: A Country Study. Government Printing Office. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-16-088278-4. The epitome in medical care is provided to top party and government officials at the Government Hospital in P'yongyang (also known as the Ponghwa Clinic).
Ralph Hassig; Kongdan Oh (16 April 2015). The Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday Life in the Hermit Kingdom. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4422-3719-3. On the other hand, an entire mini-industry is devoted to the health care of the Kim family, who, along with top cadres, have access to the Ponghwa (Bonghwa) Clinic, which provides medical care comparable to that found in hospitals in developed countries.
McKay, Hollie (March 8, 2018). "U.S., South Korean intelligence probe reports of Kim Jong Un health woes". Fox News. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-03-08. According to Yoon, Kim has a private doctor who resides in Bong Hwa Clinic and Hospital, located in Pyongyang. Bong Hwa is known to treat "only the top officials," and the first family of North Korea.
Yonhap News Agency, Seoul (27 December 2002). North Korea Handbook. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 436–. ISBN 978-0-7656-3523-5.
Bermudez, Joseph S. (June 2017). "Overview of North Korea's NBC Infrastructure" (PDF). US-Korea Institute. p. 12.
Richard Kagan; Matthew Oh; David S. Weissbrodt (December 1988). Human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). Minnesota Lawyers International Human Rights Committee. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-929692-23-4. In 1968 Kim ordered the construction of Ponghwa clinic, a secret hospital for Kim and selected members of the elite.
Springer, Chris (2003). Pyongyang: the hidden history of the North Korean capital. Entente Bt. p. 2003. ISBN 978-963-00-8104-7. Ponghwa Clinic (also known as the "Government Hospital") opened in 1971.
"Ponghwa Clinic Expanded During 2009-2010". North Korea Leadership Watch. 12 October 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
Helen-Louise Hunter (1999). Kim Il-song's North Korea. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-275-96296-8.
Pearson, James (October 1, 2014). Munroe, Tony; Richardson, Alex (eds.). "Foreign doctors, military guards: Bespoke care for North Korea's Kims". Reuters.
Lankov, Andrei (10 April 2013). The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia. Oxford University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-19-997584-6.
Kyodo News (December 14, 2017). "Illegal export linked to North clinic, bio-war lab". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Kim Young Gun, 58, former president of Tokyo-based Meisho Yoko, told investigators that he was of the belief that the dryer would be used at Ponghwa clinic, which is reserved for VIPs, including high-ranking members of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea but is also believed a biological weapons research lab.

39°2′4.00″N 125°44′35.22″E

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[2] Alternatively known as the Government Hospital or the Bonghwa Clinic[1]

[Worden2011-1] Worden, Robert L. (21 April 2011). North Korea: A Country Study: A Country Study. Government Printing Office. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-16-088278-4. The epitome in medical care is provided to top party and government officials at the Government Hospital in P'yongyang (also known as the Ponghwa Clinic).

[HassigOh2015-3] Ralph Hassig; Kongdan Oh (16 April 2015). The Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday Life in the Hermit Kingdom. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4422-3719-3. On the other hand, an entire mini-industry is devoted to the health care of the Kim family, who, along with top cadres, have access to the Ponghwa (Bonghwa) Clinic, which provides medical care comparable to that found in hospitals in developed countries.

[4] McKay, Hollie (March 8, 2018). "U.S., South Korean intelligence probe reports of Kim Jong Un health woes". Fox News. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-03-08. According to Yoon, Kim has a private doctor who resides in Bong Hwa Clinic and Hospital, located in Pyongyang. Bong Hwa is known to treat "only the top officials," and the first family of North Korea.

[Seoul2002-5] Yonhap News Agency, Seoul (27 December 2002). North Korea Handbook. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 436–. ISBN 978-0-7656-3523-5.

[jsb-6] Bermudez, Joseph S. (June 2017). "Overview of North Korea's NBC Infrastructure" (PDF). US-Korea Institute. p. 12.

[KaganOh1988-7] Richard Kagan; Matthew Oh; David S. Weissbrodt (December 1988). Human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). Minnesota Lawyers International Human Rights Committee. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-929692-23-4. In 1968 Kim ordered the construction of Ponghwa clinic, a secret hospital for Kim and selected members of the elite.

[Springer2003-8] Springer, Chris (2003). Pyongyang: the hidden history of the North Korean capital. Entente Bt. p. 2003. ISBN 978-963-00-8104-7. Ponghwa Clinic (also known as the "Government Hospital") opened in 1971.

[9] "Ponghwa Clinic Expanded During 2009-2010". North Korea Leadership Watch. 12 October 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2020.

[Hunter1999-10] Helen-Louise Hunter (1999). Kim Il-song's North Korea. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-275-96296-8.

[reuters-11] Pearson, James (October 1, 2014). Munroe, Tony; Richardson, Alex (eds.). "Foreign doctors, military guards: Bespoke care for North Korea's Kims". Reuters.

[Lankov2013-12] Lankov, Andrei (10 April 2013). The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia. Oxford University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-19-997584-6.

[13] Kyodo News (December 14, 2017). "Illegal export linked to North clinic, bio-war lab". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Kim Young Gun, 58, former president of Tokyo-based Meisho Yoko, told investigators that he was of the belief that the dryer would be used at Ponghwa clinic, which is reserved for VIPs, including high-ranking members of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea but is also believed a biological weapons research lab.