While North Korea continues to claim it is free of COVID-19, the DPRK is surrounded by countries that have all experienced significant waves of the virus. The presence of the highly contagious Omicron variant on all three of North Korea’s borders means there are growing risks of an inadvertent breakthrough – putting the country in an increasingly precarious position. 

In light of China’s problems in controlling recent outbreaks, the tools available to Pyongyang to manage potential outbreaks appear increasingly ill-suited. And because of China’s renewed commitment to attaining zero COVID infections in the country, there