⯁North Korea becomes a black hole due to the coronavirus

Since the early 2000’s, ASIAPRESS has teamed up with people living in various parts of North Korea to cover the domestic situation in the North. Since a few years ago, reporting partners have been able to use Chinese smartphones in areas close to the Chinese border, where Chinese radio waves enable reporting partners to make calls and emails.

When news of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan became known in late January, North Korean authorities blocked the border with China. Trade and inbound travel from foreign countries was almost entirely restricted. Foreign reporters- even from friendly countries such as Russia and China- were not allowed to enter the country at all.

To find out the situation of coronavirus infections in North Korea, ASIAPRESS asked local reporting partners to investigate local hospitals and quarantine offices and to try to obtain internal documents of the Workers’ Party and other administrative agencies. The documents introduced in this report were secretly obtained and photographed in North Korea. (ISHIMARU Jiro)
The Real Coronavirus Situation in North Korea (Part 2) >>

Editor’s notes on North Korean reporters
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