- Kim Jong-un suffered from “fever” during the Covid pandemic, according to his sister Kim Yo-jong.
- This appears to be the first indication that he had the virus.
- . Ms Kim also blamed South Korea for spreading Covid into the North in her speech.
Kim Jong-un of North Korea suffered from “fever” during the Covid pandemic, according to his sister, in what appears to be the first indication that he had the virus.
Kim Yo-jong also blamed South Korea for her country’s outbreak, claiming that it sent Covid-infected leaflets across the border.
South Korea dismissed the claims as “groundless.”
Ms Kim was speaking as her brother declared the country’s victory over Covid.
The remote country declared its first Covid outbreak in May and has since reported fever infections and deaths. However, there is widespread scepticism about the data, particularly the low number of deaths.
Ms Kim, a powerful senior official, blamed South Korea for spreading Covid into the North by sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border in her speech. South Korean activists have been doing this for decades, using balloons to float propaganda leaflets into the North, though the practise was prohibited last year.
According to state news agency KCNA, Ms Kim called the distribution of leaflets a “crime against humanity” and cited “the danger of spreading an infectious disease through contacting contaminated objects”,
She warned that North Korea was planning “a strong retaliatory response”.
Ms Kim also mentioned her brother’s health in her speech, saying,”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.”
Due to a lack of testing equipment, North Korea refers to coronavirus patients as “fever.”
Meanwhile, Mr Kim declared a “shining victory” over the virus and praised North Koreans’ “indomitable tenacity,” according to KCNA.
The North Korean leader ordered the lifting of restrictions and praised the “miracle” of only 74 virus deaths.
North Korea has not reported any new suspected cases since July 29, according to international observers, but the country has conducted limited testing.
According to KCNA, there have been 4.8 million infections but only 74 deaths since late April, for a fatality rate of 0.002% – the lowest in the world.
Many experts find these figures difficult to believe. They claim that the country has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world, with few intensive care units and no Covid treatment drugs or vaccines.
During the pandemic, the country has not implemented any vaccination programmes, instead relying on lockdowns, homegrown treatments, and what Mr Kim refers to as the “advantageous Korean-style socialist system.”
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