N.Korea Keeps Insisting on Zero Coronavirus Infections

The North Korean regime has reported to the World Health Organization that it has tested some 10,000 people for coronavirus but so far found no infections.

In a weekly coronavirus update on Monday, the WHO said the North had tested a total of 10,462 people until Oct. 22 but confirmed no infection by Oct. 29.

But in reality some 5,368 people are said to have tested positive, an oddly specific number suggesting an official leak, and eight of them were reportedly foreigners.

Some 161 people were isolated from Oct. 15 to 22, bringing the cumulative number to 32,011, according to the WHO's sources.

The North faces severe economic difficulty as a result of the epidemic and public agitation has reached serious proportions, sources say.

"The North Korean regime counts deaths from suspected cases of coronavirus merely as from common cold or fever, so it's hard to trust its announcements," a diplomatic source said.