North Korea's famine, poverty and other problems have brought the nation's health care system near collapse and sharply boosted the mortality rates. The U. N.’s top health official talked with reporters in Beijing about her trip to North Korea in the last week.The head of the World Health Organization, Gro Harlem Brundtland, (1) _________________, with tuberculosis striking tens of thousands more. (2) ____________________.Dr. Brundtland brought a delivery of medication to North Korea that will make it possible to treat thousands of victims.Malaria was once nearly eliminated in North Korea, but years of famine, natural disasters, and economic mismanagement have allowed the scourge to reappear along border areas with China and South Korea.Dr. Brundtland says the diseases are one reason the death rate for North Koreans has risen about 35 percent in recent years.The U. N. health chief urged North Korea's foreign and health ministers to spend more money on health care, (3) ___________________________________________________. "These are not overdone appeals and it is in no way more than needed, so that is a challenge," she said.During her trip to North Korea, Dr. Brundtland opened the U. N. World Health Organization's first permanent office in Pyongyang.
