While North Korea still has not reported a single case of COVID-19, nationwide paranoia about “the devil’s virus” rages on. On Thursday, the country’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper warned that imported foreign goods could end up “killing” citizens by transmitting the virus.
So far, North Korea has warned the public about various avenues of contracting the virus, many of which are not rigorously supported by science. The country has said that migratory birds, snowflakes, cigarettes, yellow dust blowing in from China and imported goods could lead to a pandemic.
Kim Jong Un himself
While North Korea still has not reported a single case of COVID-19, nationwide paranoia about “the devil’s virus” rages on. On Thursday, the country’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper warned that imported foreign goods could end up “killing” citizens by transmitting the virus.
So far, North Korea has warned the public about various avenues of contracting the virus, many of which are not rigorously supported by science. The country has said that migratory birds, snowflakes, cigarettes, yellow dust blowing in from China and imported goods could lead to a pandemic.
Jeongmin Kim is the Lead Correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. Kim covers inter-Korean and DPRK-related foreign, defense and humanitarian affairs, and has covered the 2022 ROK Presidential election on the ground. Prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency's Seoul bureau. Follow her on Twitter @jeongminnkim