N. Korea: Smuggler executed for violating COVID-19 quarantine rule

Authorities in North Korea have publicly executed a citizen for violating “emergency quarantine measures,” in an effort to scare other citizens into strict compliance. Report informs citing the RFA.

North Korea publicly claims it is virus free, but it has employed strict measures to prevent the spread of the virus through the country, including locking down entire cities and counties, cancelling major cultural events, and forbidding travel between provinces.

In April, Pyongyang extended to the end of the year an “emergency quarantine posture” in effect since the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, it has used several incidents where people illegally crossed borders and returned to the county to introduce even stricter measures.