Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A 3-month-old baby in North Korea successfully underwent surgery according to Pyongyang's state media on Thursday.
Propaganda service Meari said the baby had a congenital heart defect that was cured with corrective surgery at Okryu Children's Hospital in Pyongyang.
The infant suffered from breathing difficulties. North Korean doctors for the "first time" applied "advanced surgery methods" to tackle "three overlapping diseases" affecting the child, the North Korean article said.
The baby has recovered and was returned to the "warm bosom" of his parents, Meari added.
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North Korea did not provide details on how the surgery was conducted; many North Korean hospitals lack adequate surgical instruments.
Women and children are most affected by insufficient healthcare in the country. In December, South Korea provided $5 million for maternal and child health projects in North Korea through the World Health Organization.
Seoul has said the funds will be used toward training of personnel in North Korean hospitals with departments in gynecology and pediatrics, and toward expenses incurred for patient monitoring and surgical instruments.
Okryu Children's Hospital has been previously highlighted in U.N. reports. The hospital may have been using telemedicine services, or long-distance connections to link to regional hospitals. The technology has played an important role in reducing child mortality rates, according to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Defectors in the South have said the regime's healthcare for women is worse than international assessments, however.
North Korea's maternal mortality rate is 15 times higher than what has been reported in U.N. studies, the Financial Times reported last week.
Women are unable to receive postnatal care at North Korean hospitals, and often "start bleeding walking home," said one defector, according to the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights.
"After continuously bleeding for two to three days at home they die," the defector said.
Defectors also said babies born with disabilities receive "barbaric treatment," according to the report.
