<span style="color: #222222;">North Korean government has dropped a face mask mandate and other social distancing rules as leader Kim Jong Un declared victory over COVID-19 this week. According to the official KCNA, under the shift to a normal anti-epidemic system from a top-level system, North Korea dropped the mask-wearing obligation. The government also dropped other rules such as limit on service time of commercial and public facilities in all areas except border regions.<br />''<br />''However, North Korea has never confirmed how many people caught COVID-19 infection. The tally rose to some 4.77 million, and now North Korea registered no new such cases since late last month. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a COVID meeting on Wednesday and ordered the lifting of maximum anti-epidemic measures imposed in May.</span><br />