North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday proclaimed a ‘smashing victory’ over COVID-19, after falling ill himself, according to his sister who blames Seoul for the outbreak in his country. .
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Chairing a meeting with health personnel and scientists, Kim Jong Un welcomed this “victory (…) in the war against the malignant pandemic disease”, according to the official KCNA news agency.
“The victory won by our people is a historic event that once again showed the world the greatness of our state, the indomitable tenacity of our people and the fine national customs of which we are proud,” the North Korean leader added. , quoted by the agency.
North Korea, one of the first countries in the world to close its borders in January 2020 after the virus emerged in neighboring China, announced its first case of coronavirus on May 12, and Kim Jong Un took personal hand the fight against the epidemic.
Since July 29, Pyongyang has reported no new cases.
North Korea has recorded nearly 4.8 million ‘fever cases’, as it is called the number of infections, since the end of April, with just 74 deaths, an official case fatality rate of 0.002. %, according to KCNA.
The management of the epidemic “is an unprecedented miracle in the history of public health worldwide,” Kim said to thunderous applause, according to the news agency.
The leader’s influential sister revealed that he himself had been sick, according to another KCNA report.
The leader “suffered from high fevers during the days of this quarantine war, but he couldn’t lie down for a moment as he thought about the people he was responsible for,” Kim Yo Jong said.
Balloons
It is the first time that Pyongyang has announced that Kim Jong Un, whose health is the object of the greatest attention from observers, has been infected with the coronavirus.
Kim Yo Jong also accused South Korea of being the source of the epidemic in his country, by sending propaganda flyers by balloons.
Pyongyang had previously blamed “foreign things” near the border with the South for causing the COVID outbreak in the isolated country, claims Seoul has dismissed.
Despite a ban imposed in 2021, South Korean activists continue to send balloons containing leaflets and dollar bills, sparking protests from Pyongyang.
Denouncing a “crime against humanity”, the sister and adviser of Kim Jong Un threatened Seoul with “strong reprisals”.
South Korea’s unification ministry dismissed “baseless allegations” and “rude and threatening comments” from Pyongyang.
Analysts say declaration of victory against COVID demonstrates North Korea’s willingness to move on to other priorities, “like reviving the economy or conducting a nuclear test,” Leif-Eric says. Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
“Kim Yo Jong’s belligerent rhetoric is disturbing because not only will it attempt to blame South Korea for a possible resurgence of Covid, but it also seeks to justify North Korea’s upcoming military provocation,” he said. he added.
Experts, including the WHO, are skeptical of Pyongyang’s health statistics and its control of the outbreak.
The country’s hospitals are notoriously under-equipped, with few intensive care units and no coronavirus treatment or vaccine available, experts say.
Neighboring South Korea, which has an efficient health system and a high vaccination rate among its population, has a mortality rate of 0.12% by comparison, according to official figures.