- Francis Mao
- BBC News
1 hour ago
Months ago, health workers launched a disinfection campaign in public places.
North Korea has ordered a strict nationwide lockdown after the first official case of the COVID-19 virus was confirmed.
State media reported an outbreak of Omicron disease in the capital, Pyongyang, but did not mention the number of cases.
The Korean Central News Agency said that leader Kim Jong Un pledged to eradicate the outbreak, which it described as a “severe national emergency” that has breached the “quarantine” in the country.
But observers believe that the virus has been present for a long time in the country.
Observers from outside the country say the population of 25 million is at risk because North Korea refused to impose a Covid-19 vaccine program, and even rejected offers from the international community to provide it with millions of doses of Chinese-made AstraZeneca and Sinovac last year.
There are also concerns about North Korea’s poor healthcare system.
The main way to fight Covid in North Korea was to close its external borders – and it was one of the first countries to do so, in January 2020.
But this also prevented essential supplies from entering the country, leading to food shortages and chaos in the economy.
And the Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that Kim had ordered the imposition and monitoring of a “maximum emergency” of viruses and control, which appeared to include orders for local closures and tightening restrictions in the workplace.
The North Korean news agency added that the first detected case of the Omicron strain appeared in the capital four days ago.
Residents in some areas of Pyongyang had to comply with the closure for at least two days before the latest announcement, according to the monitoring website NK News in Seoul.
The South Korean government said it has renewed its offer of humanitarian assistance to North Korea in response to the news of the outbreak. But Pyongyang has not yet responded.
Analysis by Jane McKenzie – – BBC Seoul correspondent
North Korea has claimed, somewhat dubiously, for more than two years that it does not have a single case of COVID-19, so why is it admitting now?
It seems most likely that this spread is very dangerous and difficult to conceal.
And North Korea has been steadfast in its public commitment to fighting the virus. Thus, it justified the closure of its borders for a long time.
Now that the Omicron strain has entered the country, the challenge is to limit its spread.
With no vaccines, poor healthcare rampant and a significant inability to test the population, North Korea’s options are currently very limited.
The authorities have clearly decided that they have no choice but to put the country in complete lockdown. And to do that they simply have to tell the people and the rest of the world.
This does not necessarily mean that they will be more willing to accept outside help.
Analysts say that Pyongyang’s detection of Covid cases at this time is important, and could hinder the nuclear ambitions that emerged this year for the country.
North Korea has claimed to have conducted more than a dozen banned missile tests, including an ICBM, a weapon it has not tested in more than four years.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP that North Korea may put plans on hold for a nuclear test to focus on fighting the outbreak.
Despite mounting public fears, Kim may go ahead with the test in order to “shift the fear elsewhere”.
But Leif Eric Easley, a professor at Eha University, said that North Koreans “may be less interested in nuclear or missile tests, when the immediate threat is related to the coronavirus than to a foreign military.”
He added that he believed Pyongyang would “likely double” the lockdowns, as it entered “a period of uncertainty in managing domestic challenges and international isolation.”
Despite North Korea’s previous claims that it had “remarkably successful” in keeping the Covid virus out, there have been signs throughout the pandemic that the virus may be present in the country.
And state media reported in June last year that Kim had punished officials for a “serious accident” related to Covid, but did not specify the details.
The country held a military parade featuring rows of soldiers in protective suits and masks in September, and some analysts saw this as a sign of creating a special force to help prevent the spread of Covid.
North Korea shares a land border with South Korea and China, which have both battled the outbreak. China is now still struggling to control a new omicron wave and enforce a lockdown in its largest city.