North Korean schools in Pyongyang have closed, NK News has learned from multiple sources in Pyongyang, just a month after a long-delayed start to the spring term prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The closure follows DPRK leader Kim Jong Un’s July 2 Politburo meeting order that COVID-19 measures nationwide would need to be “reexamined,” along with warnings that failure to comply could result in an “unimaginable and unrecoverable fatal crisis.”

NK News has learned that children were not seen walking to school this week on a previously-used route, for example, and that locals are talking about the closures.

Schools have been closed since July 1, one source said, suggesting the move is potentially due to COVID-19.

The quick end to the spring session could also be an effort to divert children to mandatory practices for upcoming mass gymnastics propaganda events, they added, adding that preparations seen in public places have grown recently.

Last month, state media reported that preparations were underway on a new version of an event often referred to as the “mass games.” The event is slated for October or earlier and will celebrate the 75th anniversary of North Korea’s ruling party. 

Another reason that was suggested is that North Korea may have also closed schools in order realign the fall session’s start date with other schools abroad.

It’s unclear if the closure covers all schools from the elementary to university level, including outside Pyongyang, but previous reporting from the Seoul-based Daily NK suggested that, by June 22, preparations were already underway to close all schools from July 1 through the end of August due to fears of COVID-19.

Another report on July 1 quoted a source who stated that universities would also be closed as part of the measures, and that schools were thoroughly disinfected while doors were sealed shut with security stickers from June 29 to June 30.

And while North Korean state media has yet to officially report on the new school closures, a report from Sunday did mention summer vacation preparations in relation to COVID-19 measures.

“The educational sector is also taking due measures to [help] all the educational institutions across the country ensure summer vacation on the anti-epidemic principles,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on July 5.

Originally set to begin on the first of April, this year’s spring school session did not begin until June 3 due to the novel coronavirus erupting in China in late January and North Korea soon after going into lockdown.  

However, some high schools and universities also reportedly welcomed students back in late April, indicating that measures on school closures over the virus have not been consistent across the country.

Other state media reports in recent days also suggested that students were still hard at work.

For example, a July 7 article published in the ruling party daily, the Rodong Sinmun, stated that high school students in Kaesong were “carrying out maintenance work in the area of the [Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il] statues on Janamsan Hill,” though the article did not mention specific dates. 

On the previous day, the paper also spotlighted the University of Sciences Chemical Science Department for its apparently-ongoing work carrying out Kim Jong Un’s early-June instructions to develop the country’s chemical industry — potentially a sign that some priority schools remain open. 

In a similar example, Daily NK reporting last week mentioned that the Kim Jong Un National Defense University (KJUNDU) appears to be staying open, as it does not typically hold summer vacation, but has restricted students from traveling outside Pyongyang.

It’s unclear if other mass gatherings will be canceled as well. These gatherings include the “endless stream” of “summer expeditions to the revolutionary battle sites” at Mt. Paektu that began in mid-June, which have not been covered by state media since Kim’s latest orders on COVID-19 measures. 

North Korea still officially claims that the COVID-19 novel coronavirus has not infected a single person in the entire country, despite ample outside reporting that suggests the contrary — and as the country appears to have entered a new stage of enhanced lockdown this week.

Edited by Oliver Hotham and Kelly Kasulis