Chinese censors have sought to quash discussion of North Korea’s COVID-19 response in recent weeks, an NK News review of social media records found, in what experts say is an effort to shield Beijing's unyielding zero-COVID approach from criticism.

According to FreeWeChat, which archives posts scrubbed from the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat, censors have targeted those sharing news of North Korea’s claimed victory over the virus. They’ve also removed articles that discuss how Pyongyang's approach to its outbreak has failed, a criticism that would stray too close to questioning China’s strategy.