Near the heavily fortified border that divides North and South Korea, a monitoring device is working 24/7 — not tracking missiles or troop movements, but catching malaria-carrying mosquitoes that may cross the border.
Despite its advanced healthcare service and decades of determined efforts, achieving "malaria-free" status has remained elusive for South Korea, largely thanks to its proximity to the isolated North, where the disease is prevalent.
The South issued a nationwide malaria warning this year, and scientists say climate change, especially warmer springs and heavier rainfall, could bring more mosquito-borne diseases to the peninsula unless the two Koreas, which remain technically at war, cooperate.