“For Pyongyang to publicly admit omicron cases, the public health situation must be serious.”
Professor Leif-Eric Easley, Seoul’s Ewha Womans University, on North Korea's first public admission of COVID-19 cases — and a new nationwide lockdown.
Published on
may 12, 2022
- Why This Matters: Until this moment, North Korea has never acknowledged a COVID case.
- North Korea, a nuclear-armed nation, has test-fired a series of weapons in recent months — including another suspected test of three missiles hours after this announcement. President Biden will visit neighboring South Korea at the end of May.
- The U.S. Department of State continues to designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.
- North Korea remains a very isolated nation, with high poverty and reportedly a very poor health system; a large outbreak could have widespread consequences.
North Korea confirms 1st COVID outbreak, Kim orders lockdown
