Three years after COVID-19 hit, people around the world have regained their freedom to move between countries. All except in one country: North Korea, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
In January 2020, Kim Jong-un decided to isolate the entire country from the outside world in response to COVID. And in June 2023, the DPRK remains closed except for trade with China.
Not long after closing the borders, Kim Jong-un warned of the possibility of a second “arduous march”, a reference to the famine in which at least 1 million people – more likely double that – starved to death in the late 1990s. By June 2021 Korea watchers already anticipated food shortages. But instead of opening the borders, Kim urged his people to stay strong in the face of “tremendous challenges” of COVID.
