COVID-19: North Korea on virus alert after China, South Korea witness surge in cases

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic's rapid spread in nearby nations including South Korea and China, North Korea has called for stringent quarantine precautions,its state media reported on Monday. Due to the fast growth of omicron subvariants, viral cases spiked during the winter in South, China, and Japan, a report by the state-run Korean Central Television said. "The virus situations in those regions are the most serious in the world," itstated.

In an effort to "thoroughly" prevent infections, it urged North Koreans to intensify quarantine measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, The Korean Herald reported.

Recently, the North has stepped up its defences against the recent uptick in virus cases in South and China, ostensibly out of worry that possible imported infections could further harm its economy.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared triumph over the COVID-19 crisis in August last year, saying the pandemic had been brought under controlthree months after the country reported its first virus case in May 2022.

In November, Kim recommended people start wearing masks, saying immunity levels might start to decline. In September last year, he also called for a COVID-19 immunisation campaign, Yonhap reported.

North Korea has sternly outlawed all cross-border transactions since January 2020, including trade, travel, and tourism, which are the nation's main sources of foreign cash.

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The North Korean economydeteriorated quickly as a result of the border closure, and Kim has begun to acknowledge the country's challenges in 2022 occasionally. In 2020–21, the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 4.5–4.6% compared to the previous year, per Statistics Korea's figures.

Three years of stringent restrictions on cross-border trade and traffic due to the pandemic had already worn out its self-sufficient economic system. A report by The Diplomat stated that in 2023, it is possible that North Korea would gradually open its borders with China and Russia.

(With inputs from agencies)

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