For three years, North Korea’s extreme COVID-19 border controls have shaped nearly every facet of life in the country, from its ability to import fertilizer to its diplomatic engagement with friends and foes.

But as the rest of the world moves on, and after the DPRK suffered its own nationwide outbreak, could 2023 be the year that Pyongyang finally takes steps toward pre-pandemic normalcy?

Trying to predict what’s coming next in a country where developments often come out of left field means errors are all but inevitable. But since anticipating the future is an