North Korea reports over 200k new coronavirus cases

The country has so far reported 2.4 million likely coronavirus infections and at least 66 deaths from the virus.

• The full extent of the country's outbreak is unknown, as experts believe it may be fabricating figures or unable to significantly diagnose a large portion of cases because it lacks testing supplies.
• President Biden, while in Seoul on Saturday meeting South Korea's new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, again offered to send vaccines directly to North Korea or through China to help the country with the massive outbreak.

The big picture: Health experts have long questioned whether North Korea had been unaffected by the virus, despite its strict pandemic border closure at the start of pandemic.

• It did not officially confirm a positive coronavirus case until May 11. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un then declared a "severe emergency incident" and launched a nationwide lockdown.

• Despite Kim's emergency declaration, he has not accepted aid proposals from foreign governments or international organizations, including vaccines offered by the U.N.-backed COVAX initiative.
• Experts fear that the strict national lockdown combined with North Korea's preexisting food insecurity and its unwillingness to accept foreign aid could lead to extremely high levels of civilian suffering.

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