The halt in trade since January between the northeast Asian neighbors has had a crippling effect on North Korea’s economy, already struggling under years of U.S. and UN sanctions imposed to deprive Pyongyang of resources that could be funneled into its nuclear and missile programs
While North Korea publicly claims that it has not confirmed a single case of the coronavirus within its borders, RFA reported in January that the government told people in a series of lectures that the virus had spread in three parts of the country, including North Hamgyong province. Chongjin, an industrial center with a population of 625,000, is the provincial capital