Covid-19: North Korea's Caseload Close To 2 Million After More Suspected Cases Reported

The outbreak has come amid North Korea's provocative streak of weapons demonstrations, including its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in March.

New Delhi: A week after North Korea acknowledged its first Covid-19 infections on May 12, the country reported 2,62,270 more suspected Covid-19 cases on Thursday as the caseload neared 2 million, according to the news agency Associated Press.

Korean authorities are working towards safeguarding the fragile economy from deteriorating further, but the Covid numbers may be much higher than officially reported since the country lacks virus testing and health care resources and may be underreporting deaths to soften the political impact on authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un, said the report

While one person succumbed to the virus at its anti-virus headquarters taking the death toll to 63, experts believe it is abnormally small compared to the suspected number of coronavirus infections, the report added.

More than 1.98 million people have become sick with fever since late April, as per the official Korean Central News Agency. Most are said to be down with Covid-19, though only a few Omicron variant infections have been confirmed. At least 7,40,160 people are in quarantine.

Even as a large population has fallen sick and measures have been taken to curb the outbreak, state media describe large groups of workers still gathering at farms, mining facilities, power stations and construction sites.

The outbreak in infection has come amid North Korea's provocative streak of weapons demonstrations, including its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in nearly five years in March.

However, experts believe the Covid-19 outbreak will not impact Kim’s stance at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power which will help it in negotiating economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

Experts opine that it is difficult for North Korea because it cannot afford a lockdown since doing so would hinder production in an economy already impacted by mismanagement, daunting US-led sanctions over nuclear weapons ambitions and border closures owing to pandemic.