The long-suffered quarantine war is finally over and today, we are able to solemnly declare victory,” Kim Jong Un said in Pyongyang on Wednesday, according to an English language translation by NKNews.
The death toll of just 74 people in this period is extremely low and can be considered the greatest miracle in the world health community,” Kim said, according to NKNews.The death toll of just 74 people in this period is extremely low and can be considered the greatest miracle in the world health community,” Kim said, according to NKNews.
The country reported its first case of covid-19 on May 12 of this year and quickly tallied millions of cases by June. Officially, North Korea has recorded over 4.7 million cases and just 74 deaths from the disease, but those numbers are obviously thought to be a vast undercount.
And North Korean state media was in top form in declaring everything with the bombast you’d expect from a dictatorship on Thursday.
“When the respected General Secretary appeared at the platform of the venue of the meeting, all the participants broke into enthusiastic cheers for him, peerless leader, who has vigorously led the Party, state and people to the final victory of the great anti-epidemic war with his tireless and devoted efforts and noble love for the future, out of his heavy duty for taking care of the destiny of the country and the people,” KCNA said in release published online.
North Korea declined most international offers for covid-19 vaccines and probably does not have a national vaccination program against the disease, though it’s believed China started supplying the country with some doses in recent months. It’s unclear if Kim was vaccinated when he likely contracted covid.