Images released by KCNA from the meeting showed Kim leading dozens of officials who did not appear to practice social distance. Nobody is shown wearing a mask.

But diplomatic sources based in Pyongyang say on the streets, everyone wears a mask and practices some form of social distance. Life has largely returned to normal in the North Korean capital, they said, and construction sites, shops and hotels are all open. Schools there reopened in June, a source said.

The source said that apparently North Korean officials believed they had a controlled virus, at least in Pyongyang, even though one source said he had not heard of anyone being tested.

The meeting was Kim’s first public appearance in a few weeks. The young North Korean leader has in the past few years kept a very busy schedule full of public events, but in the past three months he has maintained a surprisingly low profile.

More than 10.8 million people across the planet have contracted a new corona virus, and more than half a million people have died from the virus. Every country in East Asia has reported at least one Covid-19 case – except North Korea.

In a statement emailed to CNN, the representative of the World Health Organization in North Korea, Dr. Edwin Salvador, said that 922 people in the country had been tested for the virus, all of which were declared negative. North Korea’s population may be around 25 million, although the exact number is unclear because Pyongyang does not make demographic information publicly available.

Salvador said that since the pandemic began 25,551 people had been quarantined and then released. Some 255 people – all North Korean citizens – are still quarantined, he said. Salvador said that schools across the country had reopened, and students were required to wear masks

Independent public health experts say it is highly unlikely that the virus will enter the country in any form. One of the most likely scenarios is that the virus might enter through the northern border with China, where smuggling is common. The Coronavirus cluster was identified in northeast China, including one in Jilin province in May.

Salvador said that even though the border was closed, goods sent to North Korea were disinfected and then quarantined for 10 days.

Experts believe North Korea will be very vulnerable to the Covid-19 outbreak because of poor health care infrastructure, and previous questions have been raised about Pyongyang’s testing capacity. Salvador said that North Korea had 235 rapid response teams throughout the country who were ready to handle the case and 15 laboratories that had been appointed for Covid-19 testing. Authorities in North Korea have begun using infrared thermometers to carry out temperature checks in public places, where masks are mandatory. Public gatherings have been banned.
“The ministry’s national protocol is based on WHO guidelines for responding to every suspected case of COVID-19. All suspected cases (mild, moderate or severe) are quarantined in the area or provincial hospital designated for management and there is no home quarantine for people suspected of suffering mild disease, cases, “he said in a statement.

While many are worried that the North Korean health care system will be overwhelmed by the potential of a pandemic, the country is also rather well placed to prevent the virus from penetrating its borders. North Korea stopped allowing people to enter when the pandemic first appeared a few months ago, and people at home don’t enjoy the freedom to move as they please. Cacat said the average North Korean was not permitted to travel far from home without government approval.