North Korea set to declare COVID19 victory a month after admitting it has positive cases

Barely a month after it admitted to COVID-19 infections in the country, after 2 years of steadfast denials, North Korea may be getting ready to announce victory over the virus. 

As far as state media declarations go, the country has managed to avoid deaths in huge numbers despite having one of the most horrid healthcare systems. There is no or little access to COVD-19 vaccines, and there is a long history of the government ignoring the hardships and sufferings of its own people. 

The official virus numbers for North Korea, according to experts, are closely tied to propaganda, to boost the image of Kim Jong Un, as it is tied to a true focus on what is really taking place in the country. As regards the accuracy of the news, there is widespread doubt. 

What emerges clear from this is that the state media’s daily updates make it “inevitable” that North Korea will totally defeat a virus which claimed a staggering 6 million people on the planet. The official tally says that covid case figures are going down fast. Of the total population of 26 million in North Korea, 18% reportedly had symptoms of COVID 19, however only 100 people perished. 

Experts as well as the South Korean government agree on the fact that North Korea will soon declare itself free from the virus. And of course, that will be due to Kim’s “fantastic guidance”. 

However, this declaration does not really mean much because it is likely that North Korea only acknowledged the outbreak because it deemed it manageable in the first place.