Coronavirus: Finally in North Korea

It took nearly 7 months for the coronavirus to finally hit North Korea. Okay, that is likely nonsense, but the country finally admitted that the virus has struck the country. 

Per the  New York Times (Jul 27):  

On Sunday, North Korea claimed that a man had crossed into the country from the South, and that he was likely infected with the virus. South Korean officials went in search of any defectors who had gone missing, and by Monday they had zeroed in on the 24-year-old man, identified only by his family name, Kim. 

 . . . The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that the man had been wanted by the South Korean police for questioning after a fellow North Korean defector accused him of raping her last month. 

 . . . He had never been tested for the virus, Yoon Tae-ho, a senior official at the South’s national disease-control headquarters, said on Monday, and he was not known to have been in contact with a coronavirus patient. ​The South Korean health authorities have tracked down two people who had frequent contact with the defector while he was in the South, and both tested negative, he said.

The first thought that came to my mind when I saw the headlines was: why would someone go back to North Korea? I was thinking maybe he was sneaking across to see family and then got caught. Or maybe he was smuggling stuff across the border. Nope, he was accused of rape. 

My other thought was that South Korea has very few daily new cases and from what I've read they have an incredible ability to contact trace. So what are the chances that this North Korean has COVID-19? Admittedly, he was never tested, but also the people he was in contact with don't have COVID-19. So why would North Korea claim he has COVID-19? 

CNN (Jul 27) has some thoughts:

Upon hearing of the Kaesong case, [North Korean leader Kim Jong Un] responded swiftly, according to KCNA. He immediately ordered Kaesong City be sealed off from the rest of the country and each district and region within it to be isolated.

. . . Those that do return to the North are sometimes used as propaganda tools to convince North Koreans that their socialist system is superior to the capitalist South, and that those who have fled will risk life and limb to return.

The article doesn't necessarily state it, but I could see that this defection gives North Korea an excuse for locking down the country as well as blame South Korea for bringing the virus into the country. There is potentially another reason for North Korea to make this announcement. Not only can they make a claim that the virus got into the country via this individual, but according to one article that I read (that I can't find at the moment) it could provide an opportunity for North Korea to ask for aid from South Korea as they're to "blame" for the spread of the virus in the country.