SEOUL, South Korea — It’s only been a month since North Korea acknowledged having a COVID-19 outbreak, after steadfastly denying any cases for more than two years. But already it may be preparing to declare victory.According to state media, North Korea has avoided the mass deaths many expected in a nation with one of the world’s worst health care systems, little or no access to vaccines, and what outsiders see as a long record of ignoring the suffering of its people.North Korea’s official virus numbers, experts believe, have as much to do with propaganda to boost leader Kim Jong Un as with a true picture of what’s happening in the country, and there’s widespread doubt about their accuracy. What’s clear, though, is that the daily updates from state media make it appear inevitable that the nation will completely defeat a virus that has killed more than 6 million people around the world. According to the official tally, cases are plummeting, and, while 18% of the nation of 26 million people reportedly have had symptoms that outsiders strongly suspect were from COVID-19, less than 100 have died.The South Korean government as well as some experts believe that North Korea may soon declare that it has beaten the virus. This will be linked, of course, to leader Kim Jong Un’s strong and clever guidance. A victory lap, however, isn’t a foregone conclusion. Doing so, according to some experts, would deprive Kim of a useful tool to control the public and possibly open the government up to humili …
‘It always wins’: North Korea may declare COVID-19 victory – ABC News
