Will North Korea follow China and suddenly end zero-Covid approach? Unlikely, analysts say
- While Pyongyang often looks to its neighbour Beijing, in this instance it does not have China’s medical facilities, vaccine doses, testing equipment – or enough food
- Experts say it is likely to monitor situation, ease restrictions gradually; it can get away with doing so as regime has not had to face lockdown protests
North Korea was a close follower of China’s zero-Covid policy but as its larger neighbour opens up, it is unlikely Pyongyang would be able to do the same given its poor medical system, analysts said.
Earlier this month Beijing abruptly abandoned its elimination strategy following anti-lockdown protests, with authorities re-educating people on how to take care of themselves if they get struck with Covid-19, including the Omicron variant.
Shin Young-jeon, a professor at Hanyang University’s medical school in South Korea, said the North’s dearth of testing equipment and low vaccination rates made it “hard to follow the Chinese way”.
To fully open up, Pyongyang would have to secure sufficient vaccine doses, ensure capacity for large-scale tests, and have enough facilities to treat and isolate patients.
It would be difficult to secure those things in a short period of time, Shin said, “so there will be no rapid easing in the North Korean Covid-19 response policy”.