Kim Rebukes North Korean Officials for Failures in COVID-19 Preventions

An incompetent effort from their health officials raised the possibility of a potential outbreak inside the country. Kim reprimands the officials for their laziness and their failures of maintaining a strong Covid prevention in border towns near China, such as Sinuiju or Hyesan.

North Korea, famously known for its nukes and threats, surprisingly has a poor health infrastructure that causes conflicts if an outbreak breaks out. Kim worries about the stability and health of the nation because of their poor health system.

According to Hong Min, a senior analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification, he explains that Kim may replace his Cabinet Premier Kim Tok Hun, who is accountable for their failures in the government’s anti-epidemic plan. “There is no possibility that North Korea will ever admit to an infection — even if there were mass transmissions, the North will definitely not reveal such developments and will continue to push forward an anti-virus campaign it has claimed to be the greatest,” Hong said. He continues by saying “But it’s also clear that something significant happened and it was big enough to warrant a reprimanding of senior officials. This could mean mass infections or some sort of situation where a lot of people were put at direct risk of infections.” Because of this many experts speculate that Kim would illicit border trade that defied his lockdown procedures to maintain his grip on power. With their friendly relation with China, the spokesman of China’s Foreign Ministry, promised to help North Korea in the event of an outbreak.

Although N.Korea told the WHO (World Health Organization) that they have not found a single covid infection in 30,000 people and that their country is Covid-free, they still asked the U.N.-backed program for a shipment of 1.9 million doses. Although it’s controversial that an outbreak sparked in N.Korea, it’s most likely that the N. Korean justification (government) is facing a crisis for their incompetence in protecting the people.

Tomas C.