Pyongyang has secretly asked for international help to increase coronavirus testing in North Korea as the pandemic threatens to cripple its fragile healthcare system.
After reports of the outbreak emerged from Wuhan in January, North Korea immediately shut its borders and its officials have not reported any confirmed cases of coronavirus. This is despite the deadly disease sweeping through neighbouring China and South Korea over the past three months. In China alone, there are more than 81,000 confirmed cases and almost 3,300 deaths.
Domestically, the state’s propagandists have continued to promote juche — the core doctrine of self-reliance developed by Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un, the current leader.
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