North Korea Shows No Vaccine Urgency, Despite New Virus Woes

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - North Korea this week reported a mysterious “grave incident” that suggested a major lapse related to its coronavirus response. China's foreign ministry on whether it has provided any COVID-19 help to North Korea: pic.twitter.com/Re6F4K9jxP

Its leader, Kim Jong Un, recently acknowledged food shortages, comparing the situation to a devastating 1990s famine. The North now acknowledges on a regular basis that it faces a worsening pandemic-related crisis, even as it continues to claim it is free of COVID-19. Just how severe a crisis is unknown because North Korea has shut itself off from the outside world in an all-encompassing 17-month coronavirus lockdown.