FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2020, file photo, State Commission of Quality Management staff armed with protective gear and disinfectant, prepare to check the health of travelers arriving from abroad at the Pyongyang Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea. As a new and frightening virus closes in around it, North Korea presents itself as a fortress, tightening its borders as cadres of health officials stage a monumental disinfection and monitoring program. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File)
March 3, 2020
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North Korean swagger may conceal brewing virus disaster
TOKYO (AP) — In these days of infection and fear, a recent propaganda photo sums up the image North Korea wants to show the world, as well as its people: Soldiers with black surgical masks surround leader Kim Jong Un, ensconced in a leather overcoat and without a mask as he oversees a defiant military drill.