Back in May I posted a diary about North Korea’s apparent experience with the tsunami of Covid cases then sweeping that isolated country, in which for a brief time the DPRK accounted for over 1/3 of the world’s entire caseload of new infections. I speculated that in light of the millions of cases they were supposedly reporting, and the complete lack of any anti-bodies in their population from either prior exposure or vaccinations, they could probably expect to see many thousands or even tens of thousands of deaths resulting.
Well not to worry, despite racking up nearly 4.8 million cases this spring, the DPRK hasn’t reported any new cases since July 29 (along with just 74 total deaths), and Kim Jong Un has now declared “victory” over Covid according to a report picked up by Reuters and many others recently:
Kim made his declaration in a speech on Wednesday at a meeting on COVID policy with thousands of unmasked officials sitting indoors, according to footage from state broadcasters.
Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, also addressed the gathering and said the young leader himself had suffered from fever symptoms, according to KCNA, indicating for the first time that he was likely infected with the virus.
"Even though he was seriously ill with a high fever, he could not lie down for a moment thinking about the people he had to take care of until the end in the face of the anti-epidemic war," she said in remarks broadcast on North Korean state television.
…
North Korea's official COVID death rate of 0.0016%, or 74 out of some 4.77 million, is an "unprecedented miracle", its anti-virus chief Ri Chung Gil told the meeting.
Yes indeed, if that case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.0016% actually was a reasonable reflection of reality, it certainly would have been an “unprecedented miracle" — since that would represent a CFR at least 30 times lower than any other country has seen thus far with Omicron and its descendants, and more likely 500-1000 times lower than what we would expect from a population like North Korea’s (generally poor health and nutrition coupled with a completely nonexistent vaccination program and no known prior Covid exposure).
OTOH, if the DPRK had actually suffered tens of thousands of excess deaths over the past 3+ months, one would think there would be at least some sort of evidence of such a human catastrophe (mass graves visible from satellites, refugee and/or diplomatic personnel reports, etc). Or alternatively, could the DPRK have vastly inflated their Covid case numbers for one reason or another — perhaps confusing their “virus of unknown origin” with Covid when it was actually an entirely different and far more benign virus since they apparently lack the means to even test for Covid in the first place?
In either event, as reported in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:
Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, used the Wednesday event to issue bellicose threats against the South. North Korean officials have blamed South Korea for sending the virus over the 38th Parallel on balloons carrying propaganda leaflets, a controversial practice among some North Korean human rights activists in the South. Kim Yo-jong threatened a brutal response to the allegations.
“If the enemies continue to do dangerous shit that could introduce the virus into our country, we’ll respond of course by not only eradicating the virus but also exterminating the [s]outh Korean authority bastards,” NK News reported, citing North Korean state media.
She sounds nice. So not only is the North once again threatening war against the South for supposedly causing their Covid outbreak via propaganda balloons, but:
Some observers speculated that other factors were driving North Korea’s optimistic announcement on COVID. After last testing a nuclear weapon in 2009, when Kim’s father Kim Jong-il was in charge, many believe the country is preparing for a seventh test.
Something else to look forward to it would seem.