QUESTION: With the health of #DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in doubt, we asked Rosa Park @rosainhaepark Dir. of Programs & Editor at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea @committeehrnk, how #COVID19 & Kim’s situation impacts North Koreans? Follow this thread for the answer. 
ANSWER: “For the average North Korean, this is a terrifying time. North Korean leadership is unlikely to be transparent about both the health of Kim Jong-un and the COVID-19 pandemic. A former senior North Korean government official said that...
“it is very likely that the number of coronavirus cases and fatalities in North Korea exceeds imagination.” hrnkinsider.org/2020/04/the-ne… North Korea’s Kim regime is defined by its totalitarian, draconian characteristics.
The average person in North Korea should be very worried about both Kim Jong-un’s health (logically leading to the question of succession) and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also, the potential for a leadership vacuum could also lead to purges.
Also, the potential for a leadership vacuum could also lead to purges.
When Kim Jong-un came to power, many high-level officials were purged. Since the Great Famine of the mid-1990s, the average North Korean knows that the Kim regime prioritizes the well-being of the Kim family over that of the North Korean people.”
You can read more about Rosa Park and the rest of the team at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and their work here: hrnk.org/about/staff-in…
If you have a question about national security, follow @NatSecAnswers, send us your question and we'll get the answer. @committeehrnk @rosainhaepark @UN
