SEOUL, Aug 11 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared victory over COVID-19 and his sister indicated that he too caught the virus, whereas vowing “deadly retaliation” towards South Korea, which the North blames for inflicting the outbreak.
Kim ordered the lifting of most anti-epidemic measures imposed in May although including that North Korea should preserve a “steel-strong anti-epidemic barrier and intensifying the anti-epidemic work until the end of the global health crisis”, North Korea’s KCNA information company reported on Thursday.
North Korea has by no means confirmed how many individuals caught COVID, apparently as a result of it lacks the means to conduct widespread testing.
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Instead, it has reported each day numbers of sufferers with fever, a tally that rose to some 4.77 million. But it has registered no new such circumstances since July 29.
Kim made his declaration in a speech on Wednesday at a gathering on COVID coverage with hundreds of unmasked officers sitting indoors, in accordance with footage from state broadcasters.
Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, additionally addressed the gathering and stated the younger leader himself had suffered from fever signs, in accordance with KCNA, indicating for the primary time that he was doubtless contaminated with the virus.
“Even though he was seriously ill with a high fever, he could not lie down for a moment thinking about the people he had to take care of until the end in the face of the anti-epidemic war,” she stated in remarks broadcast on North Korean state tv.
Some of the officers on the assembly had been proven wiping away tears as she spoke about her brother’s sickness.
She didn’t elaborate on Kim’s well being however blamed propaganda leaflets from South Korea discovered close to the border for inflicting the coronavirus outbreak.
North Korean defectors and activists within the South have for many years floated balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North, at instances together with meals, medication, cash and different gadgets. learn extra
Kim Yo Jong criticised South Korea’s new authorities of President Yoon Suk-yeol for in search of to raise a 2020 ban on the leaflet campaigns, calling the South an “invariable principal enemy”.
“We can no longer overlook the uninterrupted influx of rubbish from South Korea,” she stated, threatening to “wipe out” South Korea’s authorities.
“Our countermeasure must be a deadly retaliatory one.”
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles cross-border relations, expressed remorse about North Korea’s repeated “groundless claims” relating to the origin of its COVID outbreak and its “rude and threatening remarks”.
Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup informed reporters North Korea’s accusation was “more likely making an excuse for provocations”.
‘FOSTERING UNITY’
Analysts stated though the authoritarian North has used the pandemic to tighten social controls, its victory declaration could possibly be a prelude to restoring commerce hampered by border lockdowns. learn extra
“The meeting seems primarily aimed at fostering unity among the people but could also be to send a message to China that they’re COVID-free and ready to restart trade,” stated Yang Moo-jin, a professor on the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Analysts have additionally stated the easing of restrictions might clear the way in which for the North to check a nuclear weapon for the primary time since 2017.
North Korea’s official COVID demise fee of 0.0016%, or 74 out of some 4.77 million, is an “unprecedented miracle”, its anti-virus chief Ri Chung Gil informed the assembly.
The World Health Organization has forged doubts on North Korea’s assertions. learn extra
“Whatever the truth behind the numbers, this is the story being told to the North Korean citizens. And right now the numbers are telling them that the epidemic is over,” stated Martyn Williams, a researcher with the U.S.-based 38 North Project.
Like different international locations, North Korea was doubtless balancing the necessity for management with public frustration with restrictions, he stated.
North Korea’s declaration on COVID comes regardless of no identified vaccine programme. Instead, it says it relied on lockdowns, domestically produced medicines, and what Kim known as the “advantageous Korean-style socialist system”.
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Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith; Editing by Stephen Coates and Lincoln Feast, Robert Birsel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
