So does anyone believe that North Korea has zero COVID-19 cases? Well the WHO does:
North Korea reported earlier this week that despite testing, and amid quarantining, not one confirmed case of the coronavirus has been found. Not one. This, despite the fact that North Korea’s border countries, South Korea and China, have been hit hard by the virus.
And the World Health Organization goes — yep, that’s right.
“As of 2 April, 709 people — 11 foreigners and 698 nationals — have been tested for COVID-19. There is no report of a COVID-19 case. There are 509 people in quarantine — two foreigners and 507 nationals,” said Edwin Salvador, the WHO representative to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in an email to Reuters. “Since 31 December, 24,842 people have been released from quarantine, which includes 380 foreigners.”
Washington Times
You can read more at the link, but I think one of the things at least from American point of view that is going to come out of the 2020 Pandemic is the public trusting health organizations less.
What I find most interesting about this, is how much more Kim Jong-un’s sister is taking on a leadership role within the regime to include responding to a letter from the U.S. President:
Donald Trump has sent a letter to Kim Jong Un detailing a plan to develop ties, state media reported citing the North Korean leader’s powerful sister, but she warned their good personal relationship is not enough, as a hiatus in disarmament talks drags on.
The statement by Kim Yo Jong came a day after the nuclear-armed North fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Saturday, the latest such action it has taken this year.
“In the letter, he (Trump)… explained his plan to propel the relations between the two countries of the DPRK and the US and expressed his intent to render cooperation in the anti-epidemic work,” an apparent reference to the coronavirus pandemic, Kim Yo Jong said in the statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday.
A senior administration official confirmed Trump sent a letter to Kim Jong Un, “consistent with his efforts to engage global leaders during the ongoing pandemic”.
“The President looks forward to continued communications with Chairman Kim”, the official said.
While the letter reflects “excellent” ties between the two leaders, Kim Yo Jong warned that broader relations between their two nations are different.
“We try to hope for the day when the relations between the two countries would be as good as the ones between the two top leaders, but it has to be left to time and be watched whether it can actually happen,” the sister said.
AFP
You can read more at the link.
Not even a global health crisis can stop North Korea from trying to catch a few headlines by launching missiles:
North Korea on Saturday fired two projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, the latest in a series of such launches this month.
They were fired northeastward from areas near its western county of Sonchon in North Pyongan Province at 6:45 a.m. and 6:50 a.m., respectively, the JCS said, adding that they flew around 410 kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of around 50 km.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
As unhealthy as Kim Jong-un is it would be wise for him to not become infected with the coronavirus, but I doubt he is avoid Pyongyang. Every year North Korea’s military goes through its winter training cycle:
Speculation is growing that North Korean leader Kim Jong-is staying away from Pyongyang out of concern over the coronavirus in the country’s crowded capital, following reports that he has been observing military exercises across the country for weeks.
Korea Times
According to North Korea’s state media reports, Kim has apparently been out of Pyongyang since Feb. 26 when he presided over a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party.
Media reports said Kim inspected joint exercises in Wonsan in the country’s eastern province of Kangwon, Feb. 28. It is speculated he moved from Pyongyang to Wonsan the previous day.
You can read more at the link.
Who knows what is true in this report, but I think everyone finds it hard to believe that North Korea has no coronavirus cases:
Hundreds of North Korean soldiers have reportedly died from the coronavirus — and thousands of others are being quarantined.
But the secretive nation’s leaders are sticking to the official narrative that the global epidemic has not reached them.
According to Daily NK, a South Korean news organization, the COVID-19 virus killed 180 North Korean soldiers in January and February and has sent another 3,700 into quarantine. And according to South Korea’s government-backed Yonhap News Agency, almost 10,000 people have been quarantined over coronavirus fears, but nearly 4,000 have been released since they didn’t present symptoms.
But the North Korean government line hasn’t changed. The cloistered nation has remained stubbornly resistant to providing transparent information about the reported outbreak in the country.
Business Insider
You can read more at the link.
