Kim Jong-Un Warns Of 'Great Turmoil' As North Korea COVID-19 Cases Surge To 820,620 From Scratch In 3 Days

North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-Un warned of 'great turmoil' in the country, as domestic coronavirus cases surged to 820,620 in just three days.

What Happened: The country, which purportedly kept COVID-19 at bay since 2020, has now reported 21 deaths, and said tens of thousands have been detected with fever symptoms.

The leader of the isolated nation imposed "maximum preventive measures" in a nationwide lockdown after conceding its attempts to contain the virus.

"The spread of the malignant epidemic is a great turmoil to fall on our country since the founding," Kim was quoted by the state news agency KCNA, according to Aljazeera.

However, the North Korean leader showed optimism toward controlling the virus and said, "if we don't lose focus in implementing epidemic policy and maintain strong organization power … we can more than overcome the crisis."

See Also: White House Says Currently No Plans To Share COVID-19 Shots With North Korea Battling Outbreak

Why It Matters: The outbreak of COVID-19 in North Korea poses a big challenge for the country with no virus vaccines or mass-testing capacity. Experts had earlier shown concern that given North Korea's limited testing capabilities, the numbers it is reporting represent a small fraction of the infections.

It has also been pointed out that the limited capabilities of North Korea to contain the virus and its isolation from other countries could lead to thousands of deaths.

North Korea is one of only two nations without a COVID-19 vaccination campaign – the other one being East Africa's Eritrea.

Meanwhile, Kim has also ordered the immediate deployment of the "powerful forces" of the army's medical corps to "stabilize the supply of medicines in Pyongyang City," according to Reuters.

Photo by The Presidential Press and Information Office on Wikimedia