North Korea Reports First Death Due to "Corona"

North Korean state media reported that at least one person has died from COVID-19, providing the first statistics a day after Pyongyang confirmed the first outbreak of the disease in the country since the pandemic began. The Korean Central News Agency stated that an unidentified fever has been spreading in North Korea since late April, and that 187,800 people are currently receiving treatment in isolation. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to "overcome" the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing a "maximum emergency" health quarantine system, following the official announcement of the first confirmed case in the country. The official news agency quoted Kim during an emergency meeting of the political bureau, stating that "the goal is to eliminate the roots of the pandemic in the shortest possible time." The agency added that the leader "emphasized that, thanks to the high level of political awareness among the people... we will certainly overcome the emergency situation and succeed in the emergency quarantine project." Kim ordered increased border surveillance and imposed measures to contain the pandemic, urging citizens to "prevent the spread of the malicious virus by completely sealing off their neighborhoods in all cities and provinces across the country," according to the agency.