2020 in North Korea

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|  | 2020

North Korea |

* 2021
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* 2023
*   *

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Centuries:|

*   * 20th
* 21st
*   *

Decades:|

* 2000s
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*   *

See also:| Other events of 2020
Years in North Korea
Timeline of Korean history
2020 in South Korea

Events of 2020 in North Korea.

## Incumbents

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* Party Chairman and State Chairman: Kim Jong-un
* President of the Supreme People's Assembly: Choe Ryong-hae
* Premier: Kim Jae-ryong (until 13 August), Kim Tok-hun (from 13 August)

## Events

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### January

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* In Late January, North Korea closes its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

### March

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* In early March, according to South Korean media outlet Daily NK, 180 soldiers of the Korean Military had died causing speculation on if the deaths were a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
* In March, North Korea launches several missile tests.[3]
* On March 30, the 2020 Summer Olympics in which North Korean athletes were expected to compete in were postponed to summer of 2021 due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

### April

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* On April 12, Kim Jong Un was reported by Daily NK to have undergone cardiovascular surgery.
* On April 15, North Korea celebrates Day of the Sun. Kim Jong Un is missing from the ceremony.
* On April 21, CNN reports U.S. agencies monitoring intelligence from North Korea said Kim's post-surgery state was in "grave danger".[5]

### June and July

[edit]

* On June 15, North Korea demolished a South Korean and North Korean liaison office building located in Kaesong after tensions between North and South Korea rise.[6]
* July 26 – The city of Kaesong is placed under total lockdown after a person is found with suspected COVID-19 symptoms. This is the first suspected case in the country.[7]

### October

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On October 10, North Korea unveiled the missile Hwasong-16.[8]

## Deaths

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### January

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* January 17 – Hwang Sun-hui, North Korean politician, director of the Korean Revolution Museum. (b. 1919)[9]

### April

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* April 9 – Won Pyong-oh, South Korean zoologist, born in North Korea and escaped during the Korean War, son of Won Hong-gu. (b. 1929)

### June

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* June 9 – Kim Chang-sop, former Vice minister of the Ministry of State Security up until his death. (b. 1949)

### July

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* July 10 – Paik Sun-yup, North Korean born, South Korean military officer. (b. 1920)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Herskovitz, Jon; Lee, Jihye (January 21, 2020). "North Korea Bars Foreign Tourists Amid Virus Threat, Groups Say". Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
2. ^ "Coronavirus: nearly 200 North Korea soldiers 'die from outbreak government refuses to acknowledge'". South China Morning Post. Business Insider. March 10, 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
3. ^ Panda, Ankit (March 30, 2020). "North Korea Conducts 4th Missile Test in March 2020". The Diplomat. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
4. ^ "IOC, IPC, TOKYO 2020 ORGANISING COMMITTEE AND TOKYO METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCE NEW DATES FOR THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. March 20, 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
5. ^ Sciutto, Jim; Berlinger, Joshua; Seo, Yoonjung; Atwood, Kylie; Cohen, Zachary (April 21, 2020). "US monitoring intelligence that North Korean leader is in grave danger after surgery". CNN. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
6. ^ "North Korea blows up liaison office, says it will cut off communications with the South". CBC.ca. CBC. June 16, 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
7. ^ "N. Korea puts border city in lockdown over suspected Covid-19 outbreak". France 24. 26 July 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
8. ^ "North Korea unveils 'monster' new intercontinental ballistic missile at parade". Reuters. 10 October 2020.
9. ^ 김정은, 리설주 여사와 빈소 찾아 조문 故 황순희, 김일성·김정숙 등과 항일운동 (in Korean)

## Further reading

[edit]

* Delury, John (2021). "North Korea in 2020: In Search of Health and Power". Asian Survey. 61 (1): 74–82\. doi:10.1525/as.2021.61.1.74. ISSN 0004-4687. S2CID 234041504.
* Ri, Yong Ok (2021). 2020: A Year of Trials and Struggle (PDF). Translated by Cha, Kwang Hyok; Sung, Hye Gyong. DPRK Korea: Foreign Languages Publishing House. ISBN 978-9946-0-2010-5.

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2020 in Asia

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