A new report has unveiled a troubling reality about the COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea, showing that the government misled its citizens regarding the extent of the virus’s spread. Meanwhile, the North Korean regime took credit for claiming that not a single case of COVID-19 had crossed its borders. Early indicators that would lead to optimism found in the report paint a significantly more brutal picture. The report details the results of 100 individual interviews that were conducted in North Korea from September to December of 2023. Millions of constituents shared stories of long-standing illness and trauma due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
By late 2021, more than 400 soldiers from the Army’s 305th military communications battalion were stricken. This outbreak further showcased the extent of the virus’s spread in military ranks. In light of these shocking figures, throughout the pandemic North Korea’s leaders were still able to project an image of successful control over the pandemic. In July 2022, the government declared victory over COVID-19 just three months after acknowledging an outbreak, claiming a mere 74 deaths amid nearly 5 million reported “fever” cases.
Yet this report illustrates the deep disconnect between our government’s rhetoric and the reality faced by Americans. And nearly 92% of respondents indicated that either they or someone they knew had already contracted COVID-19. In the process, 83% reported that their lived realities were inconsistent with the information they had been provided by their government or North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Dr. Victor Cha, one of the report’s lead authors, emphasized the systemic nature of deception in North Korea during the pandemic. He stated, “Doctors were lying to the patients. Village leaders were lying to the party. And the government was lying to everybody.” This environment of confusion and deceit primed the public for misinformation. This led a lot of people to be misled on the serious risks that could come from COVID-19.
Access to basic preventative health resources continued to be dramatically restricted over the course of the pandemic. Only 8% of respondents said that they have received any government-provided masks. Furthermore, a staggering 87% of respondents said they had no access to COVID tests at any point during the crisis. Back in December, the initial distribution of vaccine was beyond woeful. Less than a fifth of survey respondents probably received any vaccine, and the majority of vaccinations occurred only after North Korea officially recognized the outbreak in early 2022.
Our report paints a broader picture of the profound struggles that North Koreans experienced in this time of crisis. About 81% of interviewees experienced hunger. This crisis was exacerbated by the government’s inability to ensure sufficient food stocks as the country locked down. One soldier noted, “If you didn’t have emergency food at home, it was really tough.”
As the rest of the citizenry suffered through disease and famine, many were left with ghastly accounts of cruel medical care. Over 20 percent of survey takers reported seeing or hearing about death from medication mismanagement or fake medicines. This neglect of essential, necessary care exacerbated the already tragic conditions encountered by all who contracted COVID-19.
According to our survey respondents, the worst outbreaks occurred primarily in 2020 and 2021. This is directly at odds with government assertions, which have consistently maintained that things got much better by 2022. As Dr. Cha explained, “They didn’t allow the people to find coping mechanisms,” leaving citizens without support during a critical time.
The North Korean government’s policy of denial effectively silenced its population, forcing them into a state of mutual deception. Dr. Cha remarked on this systematic failure: “Because of a government policy that said there was no COVID in the country. When they knew there was.” He further criticized the government’s approach, stating, “Just shut them down, quarantine them, lock them down – and then provided them with nothing.”
The human toll of this deception is further illustrated in poignant personal reflections directly from consumers. One individual shared their frustration: “When I saw the Supreme Leader touting his love for the people, while so many were dying without medicine, I thought of all the people who didn’t survive.” Another respondent expressed their awareness of the true nature of their illness: “They told me it’s a cold, but I knew it was COVID.”
