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The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the South of triggering a Covid epidemic in the country and threatened “retaliation,” state media reported Thursday, as Pyongyang declared “winning” over the illness.
North Korea has previously claimed that the Covid epidemic in the isolated country was caused by “foreign objects” near the border with the South, a claim that Seoul has denied.
Despite a restriction that went into effect in 2021, South Korean activists have for years launched balloons containing propaganda leaflets and US money across the border, something Pyongyang has long condemned.
According to the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Jong Un’s sister, Yo Jong, blamed these activities for the country’s Covid epidemic on Thursday, calling them a “crime against humanity.”
According to the report, numerous governments, including the World Health Organization, have recognised “the threat of spreading an infectious disease through contact with contaminated things.”
“It’s quite alarming that South Korea is sending posters, money, shoddy pamphlets, and other items into our land,” she said.
Yo Jong said that Pyongyang was planning a “heavy retaliatory response,” adding that if the balloons persisted, “we would reply by destroying not only the virus, but also the South Korean authorities.”
Last month, Seoul stated that “no officially recognised cases of Covid infections by post or materials” had occurred.
Kim’s remarks came as her brother declared a “shining triumph” in the fight against Covid-19, with no new cases of the virus detected in nearly two weeks.
According to experts, North Korea has one of the world’s worst healthcare systems, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units, and no Covid-19 therapeutic medications or immunizations.
According to Yo Jong’s remarks, even Kim Jong Un suffered from Covid.
Kim “had a terrible fever during the quarantine battle, but he couldn’t lie down for a second because he was thinking about the people he was responsible for,” according to his sister.
