2020 in North Korea

Events of 2020 in North Korea.

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Centuries:	20th 21st
Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2020 Years in North Korea Timeline of Korean history 2020 in South Korea

Incumbents

• 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

January

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

March

• 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

• 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

• 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

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

Deaths

January

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

April

• 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

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

July

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

References

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

• 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.