Kim Jong Un’s sister warns Seoul of ‘retaliation’ over Covid

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister accused the south of causing a Covid outbreak in the country and warned of “retaliation” as Pyongyang declared “victory” over its outbreak, state media said on Thursday.

North Korea has previously said that “stranger things” near the border with the south caused the Covid outbreak in the isolated country, a claim Seoul has denied.

Despite a ban that went into effect in 2021, South Korean activists have been flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets and US dollars across the border for years, a move Pyongyang has long protested.

On Thursday, Kim Jong Un’s sister Yo Jong blamed these activities for the country’s Covid outbreak and said they were a “crime against humanity,” the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

She said many countries – and the World Health Organization – have recognized “the risk of spreading an infectious disease through contact with contaminated objects,” according to the report.

“It is very worrying that South Korea is sending leaflets, money, shoddy pamphlets and items to our region,” she said.

Yo Jong warned that Pyongyang was considering “a strong retaliatory response,” adding that if the balloons continued, “we will respond by not only eradicating the virus but also the South Korean authorities.”

Seoul said last month there had been “no officially verified cases of Covid infection by mail or material.”

Kim’s comments come as her brother declared a “radiant victory” in the fight against Covid-19 after officials went almost two weeks without reporting any new cases of the virus.

North Korea has one of the world’s worst healthcare systems, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units and no drugs or vaccines to treat Covid-19, experts say.

Even Kim Jong Un was apparently suffering from Covid, according to Yo Jong’s comments.

Kim “suffered from a high fever during the days of this quarantine war, but couldn’t lie down for a moment when he thought about the people he was responsible for,” his sister said.