N. Korea reports 6 deaths after admitting COVID-19 outbreak

By KIM TONG-HYUNG and HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says six people have died and 350,000 have been treated for a fever that has spread explosively across the country. The announcement Friday came a day after it acknowledged its first COVID-19 cases of the pandemic. North Korea likely doesn’t have enough testing supplies and said the cause of the fevers was unclear. Experts have warned a COVID-19 outbreak could be devastating in a country with a broken health care system and an unvaccinated, malnourished population. Leader Kim Jong Un was shown on state TV at a pandemic response meeting, where he took off his face mask and smoked a cigarette while talking with officials.