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May 12, 2022

Anna Murray 

On May 12, North Korean state media announced the country's maximum quarantine procedures to combat Omicron infections. After the Omicron variant was discovered on May 8 in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital city, Kim Jong Un convened a central committee meeting on May 12 to discuss maximum anti-COVID-19 response measures, according to Korean Central Television (KCTV).

North Korea had previously denied any occurrences of coronavirus. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), samples taken from a group of people who had fevers on May 8 proved positive for the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Kim Jong Un, according to state media, has ordered all cities and counties across the country to completely lock down their territories and cut off all contacts between different work, life, and production units in order to prevent further spread. Kim also has ordered officials to ramp up guard duty at the borders, at sea, and in the air to ensure that the coronavirus epidemic does not cause a security vacuum in national defense.

There is no evidence that North Korea has imported any coronavirus vaccinations since January 2020. North Korea has also failed to alert the World Health Organization (WHO) about its COVID-19 vaccine status. A COVID epidemic would be deadly if the majority of North Korea's population is unvaccinated.