South Asia and Beyond

North Korea’s Covid Crisis And What’s Likely To Happen Now

Nitin A Gokhale WhatsApp Channel

  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un slams his country’s response to its first officially confirmed COVID-19 outbreak as “immature.”
  • Pyongyang reported six more deaths after the country admitted to a COVID outbreak last week.
  • North Korea currently has 1.72 million patients with fever symptoms, including 62 deaths as of Tuesday evening.
  • Health officials have developed a COVID-19 treatment guide to prevent drug overdoses that have led to reported deaths.
  • The Korean People’s Army Ground Force has been deployed to all pharmacies in the Capital.
  • The Covid crisis is being considered Kim’s biggest challenge.
  • South Korea and China have offered to send vaccines, medicine and medical supplies.
  • If Kim accepts aid, it will hurt his standing as leader. Kim has made “self reliance” his governing mantra.
  • North Korea is also planning a possible intercontinental ballistic missile test within the next 48 to 96 hours.
  • President Biden is coming on an Asia visit. He will visit South Korea on Thursday.
  • Pyongyang may also be preparing for its first underground nuclear test in nearly five years.
  • Biden’s trip is the first time a US president has travelled to Asia amid the threat of a nuclear test.
  • US has pushed the UN for more sanctions against the North Korean regime earlier this month.
  • North Korea has been under sanctions since 2006
  • In response North Korea launched a series of ICBM tests.
  • Experts believe these ICBMs could reach the eastern coast of the US

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