North Korea looks dangerously vulnerable in the face of omicron

The situation in North Korea long has been worrying to those concerned about potentially capricious military actions on the part of paranoid authoritarian regimes. But COVID-19 is presenting new concerns, both to the people of North Korea and the world beyond. Last week, the isolated nation confirmed an outbreak of COVID-19 omicron cases for the first time and state media featured a masked Kim Jong Un. Previously, North Korea said it had prevented any outbreak, although that has not been independently verified. But that position dissolved when a lockdown was called for Pyongyang, and potential...