The already isolated and nuclear-armed north quickly closed its borders after the first detection of the virus in neighboring China in January and imposed strict containment measures.
Pak Myong Su, director of the central emergency epidemic headquarters in the north, insisted that the efforts had been successful. “So far, not a single person has been infected with the new coronavirus,” Pak told AFP.
“We have taken preventive and scientific measures such as inspections and quarantine of all personnel entering our country and thoroughly disinfecting all goods, as well as the closing of borders and the blocking of sea and air routes.”
Almost every other country in the world has reported cases of coronavirus. Apart from China, South Korea suffered one of the worst early outbreaks.
Infection cases in 188 countries now exceed one million, including 51,718 deaths, according to an AFP count on Thursday based on official country data and figures from the World Health Organization.
Experts warned that North Korea is particularly vulnerable to the virus due to its weak health system, and the defectors accused Pyongyang of covering an epidemic.
The top US military commander in South Korea, General Robert Abrams, said on Thursday that Pyongyang’s claim that there were no cases was “false”. “I can tell you this is an impossible claim based on all the information we have seen,” Abrams told VOA News.
The northern army was locked up for 30 days in February and early March due to the epidemic, he said. “They have taken drastic measures at their border crossings and inside their formations to do exactly what others are doing, that is, to stop the spread,” he added.
Donald Trump previously said that North Korea was “going through something” and proposed “cooperation in anti-epidemic work” in a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.