More than two years after the world was blighted by the outbreak of Covid-19, North Korea finally declared it had recorded its very first case of the virus.
In reality, North Koreans had been suffering the effects of Covid since 2020 like everyone else, often without access to basic medicine and food, according to a new report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
They were also reportedly punished for reporting Covid symptoms, sent to labour camps for not wearing masks or breaking quarantine and in some cases sentenced to years in prison for violating lockdown rules.
The announcement of the first Covid case on May 12, 2022, followed by the acknowledgement of the Hermit Kingdom's first coronavirus-related death a day later, saw Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un declare a national emergency.
North Korea had already spent some 25 months in lockdown, having sealed its borders in January 2020 - cutting all humanitarian aid - amid concerning reports of the virus from China.
