After nine long and difficult months dealing with a global COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea still insists that nobody inside its borders have contracted the virus — but that doesn’t mean Pyongyang is loosening up its border lockdown anytime soon.

Last month, a South Korean government worker named Lee Dae-jun was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers after mysteriously floating into DPRK waters. According to North’s side of the story, the soldiers fired bullets at Lee around ten times, and the bloodied flotation device he floated on was burnt in compliance with COVID-19 preventative measures.[/p