Kim Jong-un inspects a pharmacy. Kim Jong-un has been stressing “minor illnesses” at every turn in an effort to suppress public anxiety over the spread of corona infection. On the 12th of this month, the Korean Central News Agency suddenly reported a corona outbreak in North Korea. This is a 180-degree turnaround from the stance of Kim Jong-un, who has maintained that the situation was under control with zero coronas. As of May 20, the number of people suffering from the fever is estimated to have reached 2.24 million, and Kim Jong-un has described the situation as “the biggest uprising since the founding of the country” and has completely sealed off all cities. In the capital Pyongyang, nearly 3,000 military doctors have been dispatched to pharmacies to supply medicine from door to door in an effort to contain the outbreak.   It is speculated that a factor in the spread of the outbreak was the military parade on April 25, the anniversary of the founding of the military, in which soldiers from all over the country participated without masks. International journalist Toshihiro Yamada, however, says that it may not have been a zero-corona situation from the start. The North Korean government immediately began implementing corona countermeasures in January 2020, he said. First of all, it is said that a border blockade was set up to prohibit traffic with foreign countries, and quarantine facilities were also built. However, from January to February, 3,700 military personnel were reportedly in quarantine, and 180 died…On October 10, 2020, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim Jong-un said, ‘There are zero corona cases in North Korea,’ but foreign media pointed out that the reality is different. It is said that there was a gag order on corona infections and other matters. According to information confessed to foreign media by a North Korean defector, “81,000 people will be quarantined by November 2020. This does not include soldiers, and the number of people suspected of having corona infection was said to be much higher. At this point, 10 critical care facilities had been set up, and it was reported that at least 300 people had died.