A North Korean doctor looks at a medical screen, Sept. 2016 | Image: NK News
Since early 2020, North Korea has maintained one of the strictest COVID-19 border control regimes on the planet — no one in, almost no one out. Trade, too, was largely limited as the country’s leadership did everything in its power to keep the DPRK COVID-free.
That strategy has failed. On May 12, North Korea acknowledged for the first time that COVID-19 – specifically the highly-contagious omicron variant – finally reached the North Korean people. DPRK state media has since reported over one million cases of “fever” and 50 deaths.
Fever is a likely euphemism for the virus that reflects a
Since early 2020, North Korea has maintained one of the strictest COVID-19 border control regimes on the planet — no one in, almost no one out. Trade, too, was largely limited as the country’s leadership did everything in its power to keep the DPRK COVID-free.
That strategy has failed. On May 12, North Korea acknowledged for the first time that COVID-19 – specifically the highly-contagious omicron variant – finally reached the North Korean people. DPRK state media has since reported over one million cases of “fever” and 50 deaths.
Ethan Jewell is a Seoul-based correspondent for NK News focused on sanctions, trade and maritime issues. He previously worked as an investigations and intelligence specialist for Pinkerton Comprehensive Risk Management and as a research intern for the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies. Follow Ethan on Twitter @EthanJewell