fewer ngos. north korea and its people are more isolated today than arguably they have ever been in their entire history of 70 plus years of the existence of north korea because of the all foreigners were forced out during the pandemic. the government has imposed incredibly stringent measures to try to prevent people from fleeing to the south. they bolstered border security. they ve tightened the surveillance state apparatus already incredibly strong. and so people inside north korea are literally living in this black box of isolation from the rest of the world. it s a difficult time to get a message in or out. there s email, there s phone. those things still work. people welcome using back channels trying to find way to talk about this american and how to resolve it. i can guarantee the north would like to resolve it as well. this is a pain in the neck for them. not something they asked for. they had this thrust upon them. will ripley for us in taipei. priscilla alvarez on the north