The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accused South Korea of causing the Covid outbreak in her country and threatened “retaliation,” state media reported on Thursday, the day Pyongyang announced its “victory” over the disease explained.
Kim Yo Jong has accused South Korea of being the source of the Covid-19 pandemic in his country. Kim Jong-un’s sister threatens Seoul with reprisals.
Kim Yo Jong slammed South Korea’s ballooning of propaganda flyers, calling it a “crime against humanity,” official KCNA news agency reported.
Pyongyang previously blamed “stranger things” near the southern border for causing the Covid outbreak in the isolated country, Seoul dismissed.
Despite a ban imposed in 2021, South Korean activists continue to send out balloons laden with leaflets and dollar bills, sparking protests from Pyongyang.
Kim Yo Jong said many countries and the WHO have recognized “the danger of spreading an infectious disease through contact with contaminated objects,” according to the article. “It is very worrying that South Korea is sending leaflets, money, brochures and dirty items to our region,” she added.
Threats of retaliation against South Korea
Kim Yo Jong warned that Pyongyang was considering “strong retaliatory measures,” adding that if the balloons continue, “we will respond by not only eradicating the virus but also the South Korean authorities.”
Seoul assured in June that there were “no officially verified cases of Covid infection by mail or material.” The threats come after Kim Jong-un declared an “overwhelming victory” in the fight against Covid-19 after two weeks with no new officially announced cases.
The country’s hospitals are notoriously under-resourced, there are few intensive care units and no treatments or vaccines for coronavirus are available, experts say. According to his sister, Kim Jong-un also seems to have been infected with the Covid.
The leader “suffered from a high fever during the days of this quarantine war, but could not lie down for a moment because he thought of the people he was responsible for,” said his sister.