North Korean leader abstains from wearing mask amid coronavirus dread

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was not wearing a mask alongside the masked officers while watching his troops firing rockets and artillery shells on March 13. Amid the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus, South Korea has emerged as the new hotspot of cases with over 7,900 cases and 110 deaths but Kim was seen without a mask in multiple military drills in the recent weeks while Pyongyang battles to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

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According to reports, thousands have been quarantined and hundreds of foreigners including diplomats have been confined to their residence. The North Korean state media constantly exhort citizens to obey health directives and publish images that show universal facemask use, except by their supreme leader. 

A newspaper which supports the ruling party's agenda along with another channel had shown Kim supervising firing exercises from a trench, tent or shelter four times in the last two weeks. Every time it was the North Korean leader without a mask with black fur hut while the officers next to him were seen wearing black masks. 

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Analysts believe it is Kim's message

According to reports, the North carefully controls and calibrates the imagery of their supreme leader and analysts have also said that Kim refraining from mask sens an intended message. A senior analyst, Rachel Minyoung reportedly said that Kim might want to show people that he is “not afraid of the virus” and that “he is above infection”. Lee also added that it is consistent with the crux of North Korea's propaganda of leadership which shows “the Kim leadership is exceptional in every way”. 

Moreover, there would not be any sense that he was contradicting the official virus guidance, and Lee said: “North Koreans know that he is an altogether different league”. A professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University, Koh Yu-hwan reportedly said that if he started wearing masks, it would risk “undermining his charisma as if he is some sort of a coward, afraid of catching the virus for his own sake.”

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(With agency inputs)