A picture of surgeon Rim Hyon-dan and patient Rim Song-mi in the Pyongyang Times, a weekly English-language paper based in the North.

/ Yonhap



By Kim Bo-eun



A North Korean newspaper has reported a story about a burn victim who underwent extensive reconstructive surgery to improve her appearance, in an apparent attempt to praise its health care system.



The Pyongyang Times, a weekly English-language paper, said Rim Song-mi, 28, had her face severely burned in 2006 when a fire broke out at a factory in Daegwan, North Pyongan Province where she worked.



In its Jan. 24 edition, the paper included photos from before and after Rim's procedures. The earlier photos show Rim with a disfigured nose and mouth, and a scar on her right eyelid.



According to the paper, Rim was treated by a surgeon in Pyongyang named Rim Hyon-dan.



The surgeon, the paper said, has performed 100 surgeries during his eight years of practice. The story says he ate and slept at the hospital most of the time.



Observers said the North Korean regime was using Rim's story as a means of promoting the development of the country's medical technology and health care system.



The North's Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, claimed that Rim received eight years of treatment free of charge. It used the story to criticize capitalist countries.



"This commonly happens in the North _ something unimaginable in a capitalist society where human rights and compassion are weighed by money and selfishness," the mouthpiece newspaper said.