Kim Yo-Jong, the influential sister of leader Kim Jong-un, accuses South Korea of having caused the Covid-19 epidemic in his country which officially identified 4.8 million infections and Only 74 deaths.
Le Monde with AFP
The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proclaimed, Wednesday, August 10, a “brilliant victory” on the COVVI-19, after almost two weeks without any officially recorded case.
President of a meeting with health personnel and scientists, Kim Jong-un welcomed this “victory (…) in the war against malignant pandemic disease”, according to the official news agency KCNA. “The victory won by our people is a historic event which has once again shown the greatness of our state, the indomitable tenacity of our people and the beautiful national customs of which we are proud,” added the North Korean leader , cited by the agency.
At the same time, Kim Yo-Jong, the influential sister of Kim Jong-un, accused Seoul of having provoked the epidemic of Covid-19 in his country. She got attached to the sending of propaganda prospectuses by balloons from South Korea, evoking a “crime against humanity”, reported the official news agency Kcna.
Despite a ban imposed in 2021, South Korean activists continue to send balls containing prospectuses and dollars, lifting Pyongyang’s protests. North Korea had already accused “foreign things” close to the border with the South of having caused the Covid epidemic in this isolated country, allegations rejected by Seoul.
“Strange things”
M Kim has argued that many countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) have recognized “the danger of propagating an infectious disease by coming into contact with contaminated objects”, according to the article. “It is very worrying that South Korea sends leaflets, money, brochures and dirty objects in our region,” she added.
Kim Yo-Jong warned that Pyongyang was thinking about “strong reprisals”, adding that, if the balloons continued, “we will respond by eradicating, not only the virus, but also the South Korean authorities”.
Seoul assured in June that there was “no officially verified case of infection in COVID by mail or through equipment”.
under-equipped hospitals
North Korea, one of the first countries in the world to close its borders in January 2020 after the appearance of the virus in neighboring China, has long boasted of its ability to protect itself from the virus.
Pyongyang announced his first case of Coronavirus on May 12 and Kim Jong-Un personally took the fight against the epidemic, and since July 29, Pyongyang has not pointed out any new cases. North Korea has recorded nearly 4.8 million infections since the end of April, with only 74 deaths, an official lethality rate of 0.002 %, according to KCNA.
Hospitals in the country are notoriously under-equipped, with few intensive care units and no treatment or vaccine against the coronavirus is available, according to experts. Neighboring South Korea, which has an efficient health system and a high vaccination rate within its population, displays a mortality rate of 0.12 %comparison, according to official figures.
Kim Jong-un also seems to have contracted the covid, according to his sister. The leader “suffered from strong fevers during the days of this quarantine war, but he could not lie for a single moment because he thought of the people for whom he was responsible,” said his sister.