Extreme poverty intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic is forcing people in remote areas of communist North Korea to bury dead loved ones secretly in unmarked graves in forests at night to avoid high funeral costs, reports say.
North Korea recorded “zero” new infections over the previous 24 hours and the death toll remained at 74, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on July 30, citing officials. The total number of cases was put at 4.8 million out of a total population of 26 million people.
If true, the death rate of 0.0016 percent, is the lowest in the world.
The claims, however, are disputed by foreign experts who say the government is hiding the real infection figures and death toll to ensure North Korean leader Kim Jongun retains a firm grip on a nation facing a staggering economic situation, Associated Press reported.
Other outlets report that the pariah state is recording increasing deaths from the pandemic, prompting helpless Koreans to go for clandestine burials for family members — something very unusual as filial piety and reverence to ancestors are important in Korean culture.