North Korea Starts 'No Mask' Policy This Month... Will It Also Open Borders in the Second Half?

North Korean State Media Simultaneously Report 'No Mask' Starting This Month
Source: "Possibility of Opening Borders and Human Traffic in Second Half"
Ministry of Unification: "Using Control Measures for Quarantine... Seems to Have Eased Restrictions"

It has been confirmed that North Korea lifted the mask-wearing mandate for residents one year after declaring a 'victory over epidemic prevention.' As the strict epidemic prevention policy is relaxed, there are expectations that the borders will gradually open and human exchanges will resume in the second half of the year.

According to reports from North Korean state media on the 4th, residents have been seen not wearing masks indoors and outdoors since the beginning of this month. For example, Korean Central TV aired a scene yesterday showing hundreds of young people seated closely together in a theater in Hamgyongbuk-do, all in so-called 'no-mask' status. Just three days earlier, on the 30th of last month, everyone wore masks at an indoor mobilization event.

North Korean authorities are reported to have lifted the mask-wearing mandate starting in July. In the July 3 broadcast of Chosun Central TV, hundreds of young people in Hamgyeongbuk-do were seen sitting densely in a theater without masks. Photo by Chosun Central TV

In a report related to the Hamgyongbuk-do Publishing Management Bureau published in the Rodong Sinmun, the Workers' Party's official newspaper, on the same day, all eight people in the photo appeared without masks. This contrasts with a photo related to the Pyongyang Suji Pencil Factory published in the Rodong Sinmun on the 30th of last month, where five officials were all wearing masks. However, photos attached to reports on 'COVID-19 epidemic prevention sites' still showed people wearing masks.

In North Korea, since April last year, an 'unknown fever' spread, resulting in over 350,000 people with fever symptoms. North Korean authorities officially acknowledged the outbreak of COVID-19 for the first time in May last year, and just three months later, in August, they declared a 'victory in the COVID-19 epidemic prevention war.' However, this was merely external propaganda; North Korea maintained an 'emergency epidemic prevention' policy until recently, continuing measures such as wearing masks outdoors.

So far, North Korea has not announced any easing of epidemic prevention measures, but considering that state media have been uniformly reporting 'no-mask' photos and videos since this month, it is possible that related measures were decided at the Party plenary meeting held in mid-last month. At the end of last month, a soldier at the customs post in Wonjeong-ri, Hamgyongbuk-do, near the North Korea-China border, was seen without protective clothing for the first time since the border closure. Relatedly, on the 3rd (local time), Radio Free Asia (RFA) cited a source from residents in Pyeonganbuk-do, reporting that "the National Emergency Epidemic Prevention Command lifted the mask-wearing mandate from the 1st, and this directive was communicated to residents through the epidemic prevention headquarters of each province nationwide."

North Korean authorities are reported to have lifted the mask-wearing mandate for residents starting in July. In the photo of the Pyongyang Suji Pencil Factory (above) published in the July 30 issue of the Rodong Sinmun, all five people are wearing masks, but in the photo of the Hamgyongbuk-do Publication Management Bureau (below) published on the 4th in the Rodong Sinmun, none of the eight people are wearing masks. Photo by Rodong Sinmun

With the first signs of North Korea easing epidemic prevention measures since the COVID-19 crisis, there are prospects that the border, which has been locked down for over three years, will gradually open. North Korea resumed trade with China and Russia from the beginning of this year and has expressed its intention to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games held in China this September. It is expected that the scope of opening will gradually expand in the second half of the year, and human exchanges may also resume. A source familiar with North Korea told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "There is talk that the border will open around September when the Asian Games are held," adding, "Due to fears of a COVID-19 resurgence, the border will be opened gradually, starting with replacing personnel at overseas diplomatic missions."

An official from the Ministry of Unification said, "Since the Rodong Sinmun issue on the 3rd, photos of people not wearing masks have noticeably increased," adding, "Although there has been no official announcement from North Korea yet, it is presumed that measures to ease the epidemic prevention policy have been taken." The official also said, "North Korea has implemented epidemic prevention measures to an excessive degree, partly using epidemic prevention as a means of control," and added, "We will closely monitor related developments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.