As the pandemic began, North Korea moved to seal its northern borders, tightening control over informal trade routes and making escape harder for defectors. Kim Jong Un upgraded security on the Chinese and Russian frontiers, blocking routes for smugglers and defectors By and Sudev Kiyada Published For North Koreans, the country's northern frontier long offered rare access to outside information, trade opportunities, and the best option for those seeking to flee. But as the pandemic gripped the world in 2020, Kim Jong Un's regime embarked on a massive exercise to seal its borders with China and Russia, cutting off routes plied by smugglers and defectors.

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/NORTHKOREA-BORDER/byvrlwjreve/index.html

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