North Korea removed virus lockdown measures that had been in place for more than two weeks in its capital, news reports indicated, after saying policies by leader Kim Jong Un have controlled the country’s first COVID-19 outbreak.
Kim’s regime has partially lifted the lockdown in Pyongyang and eased curbs in “stabilized areas,” Yonhap News Agency of South Korea on Monday reported diplomatic sources as saying. Residents in Pyongyang were allowed to leave their homes for the first time since May 12 and business were slowly opening, NK News on Sunday reported sources in the isolated state as saying.
North Korea has not allowed in outside workers to help with the pandemic or verify any of its numbers for the public health crisis that could have overwhelmed its antiquated medical system — and posed a threat to Kim’s regime. It and Eritrea are the only two countries that have not administered vaccines, putting their people at increased risk.
