North Korea’s cryptic crisis

For years, the West has tried to cajole the North Korean regime using sanctions, much to the frustration of Kim Jong-un. But now in the era of Covid, Pyongyang has been forced to inflict greater economic harm on itself, entrenching its international isolation and the suffering of its people.

The hermit kingdom was one of the first countries to close itself off. The border with South Korea is already one of the most fortified in the world, while the northern Chinese perimeter, a vital point of trade, was sealed in January 2020 before many in the West had even heard of Covid.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Mutual Aid, Friendship, and Cooperation between China and the DPRK, the only treaty each of the two countries has signed with another state. Yet Mao’s notorious description of relations between Beijing and Pyongyang as being ‘as close as lips and teeth’ remains, as it was at the time, overly optimistic.