Covid-19: the mysterious origins of the virus in North Korea

Photo of the 11th Plenary Meeting of the 14th Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Pyongyang, provided by the North Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) on November 5, 2020. via REUTERS - KCNA

Text by: Nicolas Rocca Follow

3 min

If Pyongyang authorities are to be believed, North Korea has not recorded any confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

The WHO judges for its part that there are more than 6,000 suspected cases.

In any case, speculation is rife about the origin of the virus in what is one of the most closed countries in the world.

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From our correspondent in Seoul,

To explain the entry of the virus into the country, the North Korean media are redoubling their imagination.

Among the speculations, the most recent was last Thursday, indicating that imported foreign products could transmit the devil's virus, according to

, North Korea's leading state newspaper.

North Korean paranoia

Other revealing theories of North Korean paranoia have been aired by Central TV Station.

In an interview, a North Korean doctor said the virus could spread due to snowfall or bird migrations.

At the end of October, the North Korean authorities claimed that a mysterious cloud of yellow sand could potentially carry the virus.

As a result, outdoor construction sites have been suspended across the country and citizens forced to stay in their homes with windows closed.

This yellow dust actually comes from the Gobi Desert, which straddles China and Mongolia.

These clouds are quite common in northern China and the Korean peninsula, they may be laden with harmful industrial products or heavy metals, but claiming that they carry Covid-19 seems, at the very least, unfounded.

Not so tight borders

But, despite the optimism of the authorities, many sources show that

in the country.

The borders have been closed since the end of January 2020 and are not about to open again.

Gatherings would be prohibited, the generalized wearing of masks and especially the number of entries into isolation centers for people with symptoms of Covid-19 has significantly increased recently.

In one of the most opaque countries in the world, it's unclear where the virus may come from in North Korea, but smuggling activity on the Sino-Korean border could be a possible path of entry for the coronavirus.

On Sunday, the North Korean government called for even tighter border control.

While we must always be careful when it comes to analyzing information from Pyongyang, it seems easier for the authorities to say that the Covid-19 is transmitted by a mysterious cloud rather than to assume a possible failure. at the borders.

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