The Korean regime in the midst of a crisis. Kim Jong Un castigated North Korean health authorities on Monday for their handling of the Covid-19 epidemic, which has claimed 50 lives since its official appearance in the country, and ordered the army to mobilize. The North Korean leader "strongly criticized the government and the public health sector for their irresponsible attitude", state agency KCNA reported.

During a Politburo meeting, he complained in particular that pharmacies were not open 24 hours a day. Drug supply officials "did not roll up their sleeves and properly assess the current crisis", he lamented.

Read alsoFirst official cases of Covid-19 in North Korea: containment and many questions

He ordered the army to get to work "to immediately stabilize the supply of medicines to Pyongyang". Kim Jong Un oversees near-daily emergency Politburo meetings, and North Korean media released photos of him visiting a pharmacy in Pyongyang on Sunday.

50 died of "fever"

The first figures are now known. Despite large-scale lockdowns, 1,213,550 people have been infected, 50 have died and 564,860 are under medical treatment, according to KCNA, which does not specifically cite Covid-19 but speaks of "fever".

North Korea's healthcare system was ranked 193rd out of 195 countries by a study by US Johns Hopkins University last year. The country's hospitals are poorly equipped, with few intensive care units. According to experts, the country has no treatment for Covid-19 and does not have the capacity to massively test its population.

North Korea has cut itself off from the world for more than two years to protect itself from the pandemic. But experts considered it inevitable that the virus would eventually infiltrate the country, given the outbreaks caused by the Omicron variant in neighboring countries.

Towards a “zero Covid” policy?

According to KCNA, the North Korean leader has expressed his intention to draw inspiration from China's strategy to fight the pandemic. As a reminder, China is one of the last countries in the world to practice a "zero Covid" policy consisting of confining entire cities as soon as the slightest case appears, and systematically tracing and isolating the sick.

North Korea has refused offers of Covid vaccines from China and the World Health Organization's Covax program, but Beijing and Seoul have reached out again. US President Joe Biden is expected in Seoul this weekend to meet his new South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol. Pyongyang's weapons programs and the Covid-19 outbreak will likely top the agenda at this summit.