Kim Jong-un’s sister slams ‘impudent’ South Korean minister for questioning North’s claim to be Covid-free and warns ‘she might have to pay dearly for it’
- Seoul’s foreign minister said it was ‘hard to believe’ that the North had no cases
- Kim Jong-un had repeated the boast at a military parade as recently as October
- His sister Kim Yo-jong accused the South of trying to strain inter-Korean ties
Kim Jong-un’s sister has slammed a South Korean minister for questioning the North’s claim to be coronavirus-free – warning that ‘we will never forget her words and she might have to pay dearly for it’.
Seoul’s foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said it was ‘hard to believe’ that North Korea did not have a single case, a boast which Kim Jong-un repeated at a military parade in October.
But the strongman’s sister Kim Yo-jong reacted angrily, calling the minister’s comments ‘impudent’ and accusing her of trying to strain inter-Korean relations, according to official media.
‘It can be seen from the reckless remarks made by her without any consideration of the consequences that she is too eager to further chill the frozen relations between the north and south of Korea,’ Kim said.
Kim Yo-jong, pictured with her brother Kim Jong-un, has reacted angrily after South Korea cast doubt on the North’s claims to be free of coronavirus
Pyongyang closed its borders in January to avoid contamination with Covid-19, and has long insisted that it has had no cases.
Experts suggest this is unlikely, given that the virus first emerged in neighbouring China, its main provider of trade and aid.
The South Korean minister told a forum in Bahrain on Saturday that ‘all signs are that the regime is very intensely focused on controlling the disease that they say they don’t have’.
The pandemic ‘in fact has made North Korea more North Korea – ie more closed, very top-down decision-making process where there is very little debate on their measures dealing with Covid-19’, Kang said.
Despite its zero-cases claim, North Korea’s state media has repeatedly spoken of a ‘maximum emergency’ anti-epidemic campaign in the country.
As well as closing off its international borders, North Korea has flown out diplomats and isolated residents with suspected symptoms.
North Korea’s border closure with China, its biggest trading partner, has brought further turmoil its already fragile economy.
Kim Jong-un at a military parade in October when he repeated the claim that North Korea has not had a single case of coronavirus
The country has admitted it is facing ‘multiple crises’ due to the pandemic, a spate of natural disasters last summer and persistent US-led sanctions imposed over its nuclear program.
Experts have said a major disease outbreak in North Korea could cause a humanitarian disaster because of its broken healthcare system.
The statement came with discussions between Pyongyang and both Washington and Seoul at a standstill following the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump.
The North has yet to comment on the election of Joe Biden as US president, nor has its state media reported the result. Biden has previously described Kim as a ‘thug’.
South Korea’s spy agency recently told lawmakers that Kim had ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any acts that could provoke Washington because it is worried about Biden’s expected new approach.
His sister’s statement came with US deputy secretary of state Stephen Biegun, who has led talks with Pyongyang under the Trump administration, currently in Seoul.
In June, Pyongyang blew up a liaison office with the South on its side of the border – paid for by Seoul – saying it had no interest in talks.