Why North Korea’s COVID-19 outbreak won’t be a death sentence for Kim regime



Columns Why North Korea’s COVID-19 outbreak won’t be a death sentence for Kim regime Malnutrition and poor healthcare may cause more deaths than statistics show, but mainly among elderly and poor Andrei Lankov May 23, 2022 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Sanitation workers disinfect a textile factory in Pyongyang \| Image: KCNA (May 23, 2022) COVID-19 has finally managed to penetrate into North Korea — arguably the last country that was free from the infection. Though the official announcement was only made on May 12, the actual breakthrough happened in late April, authorities admit. As of May 20, the authorities claim that 2.47 million North Koreans have contracted “fever” since late April. Of these, 1.77 million have allegedly recovered and 66 people died. A fast spread is what one would expect with the highly contagious omicron variant spreading in an unvaccinated population, but the claimed number of deaths in the DPRK appears dramatically underreported. In South Korea, 17.9 million COVID-19 cases have been discovered since the pandemic and this resulted in 23,855 deaths for a fatality rate of some 1.3%. COVID-19 has finally managed to penetrate into North Korea — arguably the last country that was free from the infection. Though the official announcement was only made on May 12, the actual breakthrough happened in late April, authorities admit. As of May 20, the authorities claim that 2.47 million North Koreans have contracted “fever” since late April. Of these, 1.77 million have allegedly recovered and 66 people died. A fast spread is what one would expect with the highly contagious omicron variant spreading in an unvaccinated population, but the claimed number of deaths in the DPRK appears dramatically underreported. In South Korea, 17.9 million COVID-19 cases have been discovered since the pandemic and this resulted in 23,855 deaths for a fatality rate of some 1.3%. Become a member for less than $5.75 per week. Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Columns

Why North Korea’s COVID-19 outbreak won’t be a death sentence for Kim regime

Malnutrition and poor healthcare may cause more deaths than statistics show, but mainly among elderly and poor

Andrei Lankov May 23, 2022

Why North Korea’s COVID-19 outbreak won’t be a death sentence for Kim regime

Sanitation workers disinfect a textile factory in Pyongyang | Image: KCNA (May 23, 2022)

COVID-19 has finally managed to penetrate into North Korea — arguably the last country that was free from the infection. Though the official announcement was only made on May 12, the actual breakthrough happened in late April, authorities admit.

As of May 20, the authorities claim that 2.47 million North Koreans have contracted “fever” since late April. Of these, 1.77 million have allegedly recovered and 66 people died. A fast spread is what one would expect with the highly contagious omicron variant spreading in an unvaccinated population, but the claimed number of deaths in the DPRK appears dramatically underreported. In South Korea, 17.9 million COVID-19 cases have been discovered since the pandemic and this resulted in 23,855 deaths for a fatality rate of some 1.3%.