For How Long Will North Korea Be Able to Sustain Its Lockdown?
When the coronavirus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, North Korea locked its borders faster and harder than virtually any other country.
For North Korea, it was a matter of necessity; the country’s fragile health care system is unable to cope with a major disease outbreak.
But nearly two years after North Korea severed almost every land, sea, and air link with the rest of the world, it still appears to have few tools other than lockdowns to fight the pandemic.
North Korea has refused offers of COVID-19 vaccines from other countries and the United Nations-backed COVAX vaccine distribution initiative. According to the World Health Organization, it is one of only two countries yet to begin vaccination campaigns (the other is Eritrea).
Instead, North Korea has not only sealed its borders, but also imposed severe domestic travel restrictions.
While most analysts doubt North Korea’s claim to have completely kept out COVID-19, they acknowledge that the early lockdown likely prevented pandemic deaths.
“It works, let’s face it. North Korea is able to seal its borders very tightly and control movement. And we know these viruses cannot infect others when they can’t move,” says Kee Park, a North Korea healthcare expert who works at the Massachusetts-based Harvard Medical School.
But as North Korea enters year three of its lockdown, signs of economic stress are emerging.
Basic food supplies, already often lacking in many parts of North Korea, are now too expensive for poorer classes to afford. Outside humanitarian aid, which plays a key role in North Korea’s economy, has been cut back.
While the situation may not be as dire as the country’s 1990s famine, the economy has taken a major hit, says Lee Sang Yong, chief editor of the Daily NK, a Seoul-based publication that maintains sources inside North Korea.
“Ordinary people now eat only two meals per day instead of three. And the ratio of rice to corn they consume is 3 to 7 instead of 7 to 3. It’s clear the economic situation is getting worse,” Lee says.
