Information on the Covid-19 situation in North Korea and the country’s policy response to the pandemic has been fragmented and incomplete. To better understand North Korea’s Covid- 19-related policies, this article assesses the legal measures that have been implemented by this isolated, totalitarian country to counter the pandemic, including the Emergency Law on the Prevention of Epidemics (ELPE), which was enacted in August 2020. Compared to related laws prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, North Korea’s legal measures implemented in the face of the current pandemic have distinct characteristics. The measures, which appear to supersede other laws, prescribe draconian punishments for violations and expedite criminal sanction. This article concludes that stringent measures have been implemented in North Korea to prevent the spread of Covid-19, to protect Kim Jong-un, and to reinforce the regime’s stability. These measures are likely to be repeated in future epidemics, as they have achieved the status of law.

I. Introduction
II. Legal Measures to Prevent InfectiousDiseases in North Korea
    A. Before the Covid-19 Pandemic
    B. Legislation to Counter the Covid-19 Pandemic
III. Crimi nal Sanctions against the Violation ofLaws on the Control of Infectious Diseases
    A. Before the Covid-19 Pandemic
    B. Criminal Sanctions to Counter the Covid-19 Pandemic
IV. Conclusion
Appendix
    Chapter 1: The Fundamentals of the Emergency Epidemic Prevention Law
    Chapter 2: Preparation of Countermeasures against an Epidemic Crisis
    Chapter 3: Establishment of the National Emergency Epidemic Prevention System
    Chapter 4: Countermeasures against an Epidemic Crisis
    Chapter 5: Legal Responsibility for Violation of Emergency Epidemic PreventionOrder
References

• Dae Un Hong(Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School; Adjunct Professor at Cornell Law School)