Something unprecedented in history is happening. Therefore, some diagnose that the North Korean economy is at its worse. North Korea-China trade, which has been regarded as the lifeline of the North Korean economy, is predicted to fall below the record low of $200 million this year. Trade is carried out at sea under strict quarantine guidelines. Most of the human traffic was suspended due to the blockade. The National Intelligence Service announced that there was a shortage of essential medicines in North Korea and that water-borne infectious diseases such as typhoid were spreading.
This situation was also confirmed by North Korea's supreme leader, Chairman Kim Jong-un. In a speech at the National Veterans Conference held in July, he said: "The unprecedented global health crisis and the difficulties caused by the long-term blockade are a turning point, comparable to that of war." He admitted that it was the most severe period since the founding of the country.
In the blockade situation, Chairman Kim seems to have paid the most attention to solving the problem of hunger. According to the National Intelligence Service's National Assembly report, he said: "It feels like walking on thin ice. To secure even one more single grain all of us who eat rice should go together in rural support." To overcome the food shortage, the army mobilized the entire population and completed the rice harvest around October 20 earlier than usual. Fortunately, this year's overall food crop is expected to exceed last year's level due to increased sunlight hours. This has given them some space to breathe.
Corona 19 is acting as a huge challenge for the Kim Jong-un regime today. One problem is that North Korea is one of two countries that have not started the vaccine program among the citizens. The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that North Korea and Eritrea are the only countries that have not started vaccination against COVID-19. This means that unless North Korea starts vaccination as soon as possible and increases the rate, it will not be able to contain the spread of the coronavirus, so it will not be easy to ease the lock-down for a long time to come.
Some predict that North Korea will soon open an overland route between North Korea and China as the internal hardship and economic difficulties intensify. However, if you open the border clumsily and allow goods and people to come and go in a situation where vaccination has not even started, you can expect an out-of-control spread of COVID-19. So, while other countries are moving toward a step-by-step recovery of daily life, with Corona, North Korea is not slowing down the reins of emergency quarantine.
It is noteworthy that North Korea does not appear to be as nervous about the situation as we think. Rather, it justifies border closures. "The current situation of complete lock-down is a golden opportunity to maximize our internal strength and power based on our technology, raw materials, and resources"— the words of a labor newspaper. They view the situation as an opportunity to reduce dependence on imports, which are prevalent in North Korea, and to strengthen self-reliance and internal capabilities. Of course, it is not easy to say what the outcome of the Kim Jong-un regime's efforts will be. What is clear is that we are dealing with a new North Korea, we have never experienced before.
