04/21/2020 North Korea (International Christian Concern) – Despite North Korea’s claim that the reclusive country has zero confirmed COVID-19 case, authorities have been telling citizens in public lectures that there are confirmed cases within the borders as early as late March.
Radio Free Asia reports that according to two sources, the North Korean government held lectures at every organization and neighborhood watch unit in late March to educate people about the pandemic, where speakers publicly stated that COVID-19 was spreading in three specific areas of the country.
A resident in Ryanggang province told RFA, ““[They] held a lecture session for all the residents titled ‘Let’s all work together on the coronavirus quarantine project to [successfully] implement the Supreme Leader’s policies.’”
Given that there were confirmed patients among the people, and the Korean Workers’ Party’s quarantine guidelines had not been implemented properly, the lecturer asked the attendants to “prevent [further] damage [to society] so they can together win the war against the coronavirus.”
The source also added that based on the lecturer’s account, there only were confirmed cases in three areas – Pyongyang, South Hwanghae province, and North Hamgyong province. Yet the residents remain doubtful about this statement.
The second source who also attended similar lecture in Pyongyang told RFA that they were told that they should be grateful for living in a country with the fewest cases, thanks to the country’s political system and healthcare policies. “They even told us that we should pledge our undying loyalty to our leader for providing us with such a great healthcare system,” he said.
The authoritarian state is known for its deification of its leaders – namely three generations of Kims. Their ruling cannot be questioned and the country ought to revere them with no reservation. It is possible that the current leader Kim Jung-Un wants to maintain his “invincibility” both in country and externally through the display of North Korea’s “zero case legend.”
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