[AP] ‘It always wins’: North Korea may declare COVID-19 victory

LINK: https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-obituaries-north-korea-government-and-politics-06ad05d9a9678a3825da5766323a9a35

Despite its COVID-19 outbreak, North Korea has continued test-firing missiles this year. But it hasn’t yet carried out a widely expected nuclear test, possibly because of worries about a potential backlash from people still struggling with the virus.

North Korea may officially declare victory over the virus when its daily fever cases and the pandemic situation in neighboring China ease significantly, said Ahn Kyung-su, head of DPRKHEALTH.ORG, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea.

But he said such a declaration doesn’t mean much because North Korea likely only acknowledged the outbreak last month because it had determined that it was manageable.

“According to North Korea, it defeats everything. It doesn’t acknowledge things that it can’t overcome. It always wins absolutely, no matter whether it faces military, economic or pandemic difficulties,” Ahn said.