MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

TEARS FOR FEARS: Astonishing video shows North Korean citizens bursting into tears when told about Kim Jong-un's COVID illness

Kim Jong-un's officials broke down in tears after his sister revealed he was 'seriously ill' with a 'high fever' during the Coronavirus outbreak

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA: Kim Jong-un's officials were seen breaking down in tears after his sister revealed he was "seriously ill" with a "high fever" during the Coronavirus outbreak earlier this summer. A packed congregation was informed by Kim Yo-jong how the dictator suffered after North Korea's first acknowledged infections. This prompted an outburst of emotions, with henchmen in military uniform wiping their tears.

But as she claimed South Korea intentionally infected them, and declared revenge on their neighbors, the crowd cheered. Yo-jong accused South Korea of infecting them by sending contaminated leaflets over the border. "If the enemies continue to do dangerous s*** that could introduce the virus into our country, we'll respond of course by not only eradicating the virus but also exterminating the south Korean authority b*****d," she said.

READ MORE

Kim Jong-un bans leather across North Korea after rip offs gain popularity

North Korea executes 7 for enjoying 'perverse' K-pop music banned by Kim Jong-un

Her statement suggested that Kim may have contracted Covid-19, although the country had maintained for two years that no cases were detected until their outbreak this year, which prompted a nationwide lockdown. Kim said in a speech that they had a "miracle" victory over the virus, which he claimed crossed into his country in May.

Yo-jong said Kim suffered fever symptoms and praised her brother's "energetic and meticulous guidance" for bringing an "epoch-making miracle" in the fight against the virus. "(South Korean) puppets are still thrusting leaflets and dirty objects into our territory. We must counter it toughly," she said. "We have already considered various counteraction plans, but our countermeasure must be a deadly retaliatory one." According to experts, the scale of the virus' outbreak was manipulated by North Korea so that Kim could have absolute control of the country amid economic difficulties, which were on the rise. 

Yo-Jong's statement could mean she will try to blame any Covid resurgence on the South, and could also justify North Korea's next military provocation, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, according to the Daily Mail. In an unscientific claim, North Korea first suggested in July that its Covid outbreak began in people who came in contact with objects carried by balloons flown from South Korea. In reality, the country's outbreak was believed to have spread when it briefly reopened its border with China in January, to freight traffic.

Meanwhile, North Korea admitted to an omicron outbreak of the virus in May, reporting about 4.8 million "fever cases" in its population of 26 million. Only a fraction of the cases were identified as Covid. It claimed that the outbreak has been slowing for weeks and only 74 people have died.

In an earlier speech, Kim had said: "Since we began operating the maximum emergency anti-epidemic campaign (in May), daily fever cases that reached hundreds of thousands during the early days of the outbreak were reduced to below 90,000 a month later and continuously decreased, and not a single case of fever suspected to be linked to the evil virus has been reported since July 29." "For a country that has yet to administer a single vaccine shot, our success in overcoming the spread of the illness in such a short period of time and recovering safety in public health and making our nation a clean virus-free zone again is an amazing miracle that would be recorded in the world's history of public health."