Kyodo News via Getty Images
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North Korea has implemented a number of measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, though its claims of zero cases and fatalities is highly unlikely.
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The government has halted tourism and shut down most of its border, though trade with China has continued.
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Photos from inside the country in recent weeks show residents and workers taking precautions such as wearing masks and gloves.
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But images of cramped classrooms and government meetings show challenges in implementing social-distancing measures, and experts have noted that the country lacks a healthcare infrastructure to combat a pandemic.
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Like most countries around the world, North Korea has taken a number of drastic measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The Hermit Kingdom has so far reported zero cases and zero fatalities, though it’s unlikely that’s actually true.
Photos from inside the country in recent weeks show masked residents and workers, temperature checks, and efforts to disinfect imported goods and public transportation.
Amid the lockdown, speculation has also run rampant regarding the whereabouts of the country’s leader Kim Jong Un, who hasn’t been seen in public since April 11.
Here’s what life inside North Korea looks like as the country battles the outbreak.
North Korea’s government acted early to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and appears to have taken the threat seriously.
Associated Press/Cha Song Ho
Source: Reuters
First, it suspended foreign tourism in late January.
Associated Press/Cha Song Ho
Source: 38 North
The country also said it quarantined 10,000 of its citizens and all of its diplomats.
Kim Won Jin/AFP via Getty Images
Source: The New York Times
In February, it closed down its 880-mile border with China almost entirely.
Reuters/Damir Sagolj
Source: 38 North
Despite the measures, and images of masks and disinfectant, experts have remained highly skeptical of North Korea’s ability to contain an outbreak — decades of sanctions and widespread poverty have gutted the country’s healthcare infrastructure.
Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Sources: The New York Times, Business Insider
Chinese authorities even warned residents in border cities not to stray too close to North Korea, lest they be shot by North Korean guards.
Reuters/Damir Sagol
Source: Reuters
“We’re told that we may get killed if we get too close to the border area,” one restaurant owner in Jian, China, told Reuters.
Associated Press/Ng Han Guan
But international curiosity about North Korea has remained, and South Koreans are still flocking to their northern border to catch a glimpse of the mysterious country.
Associated Press/Lee Jin Man
North Korea’s economy relies on China for trade, and it didn’t close off imports and exports entirely — but it did implement strict new disinfectant guidelines for imported goods.
Associated Press/Jon Chol Jin
Source: Yonhap News Agency
Photos from inside the country in recent weeks have shown North Korean residents and workers taking precautions, wearing masks and gloves.
Associated Press/Jon Chol Jin
Healthcare workers have been seen educating North Koreans about coronavirus symptoms and prevention measures.
Associated Press/Jon Chol Jin
A university in Pyongyang, the nation’s capital, implemented temperature checks before allowing students back on campus after a vacation.
Associated Press/Jon Chol Jin
Photos from the university’s classrooms showed the students wearing face masks during lessons, though they appeared to be sitting close together instead of the recommended six feet apart.
Associated Press/Jon Chol Jin
The students could also be seen cleaning their classrooms before taking their seats.
Kyodo News via Getty Images
The country’s most important holiday on April 15 still drew crowds to commemorate the birthday of Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s founder and Kim Jong Un’s grandfather.
Associated Press/Jon Chol Jin
Citizens donned face masks to lay flowers near the statues of Kim Il Sung, and the former leader Kim Jong Il.
Associated Press/Cha Song Ho
North Korea has claimed the country has no coronavirus cases, and no fatalities. That’s almost impossible to believe, experts have said, due to its extensive and ongoing trade with China, the former epicenter of the virus.
Associated Press/Cha Song Ho
Source: 38 North
North Korea experts have also noted that a huge swath of the population suffers from conditions like malnutrition and disease — prime conditions for the outbreak to spread.
Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Source: 38 North
Rural communities are particularly vulnerable to poverty and a lack of healthcare resources.
Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
The World Health Organization said it was receiving weekly updates from North Korea, and had sent testing kits and protective equipment to the country. But as of early April, no positive cases had been reported.
Kim Won Jin/AFP via Getty Images
Source: Reuters
North Korea’s state-run media has reported that the government has called for stricter coronavirus measures, though photos of a parliamentary meeting revealed that none of the top officials — including Kim Jong Un — were wearing masks or keeping a safe distance from one another.
KCNA via Reuters
Source: AFP
The country’s secrecy around its likely coronavirus outbreak isn’t unusual — the government has also tried to conceal the fact that Kim Jong Un hasn’t been seen in weeks.
KCNA via Reuters
Rumors have run rampant that the leader could be gravely ill after a surgery, or hiding from the coronavirus. Satellite images have since revealed a number of signs that Kim could be staying in a resort town, but the mystery will likely remain until Kim reappears.
Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies-38 North/Handout via REUTERS.
Source: Business Insider, 38 North
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