North Korea’s Kim fumes about ‘grave lapses’ in pandemic defences

Several senior officials replaced for ‘incompetence and irresponsibility’ in their efforts to stop the spread of COVID.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chastised top governing party officials for failures in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to an unspecified “grave incident” and put the safety of the country and people at risk, state media reported on Wednesday. The report by state news agency KCNA did not elaborate on what happened, or how it put people at risk, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said. “By neglecting important decisions of the party in its national emergency antivirus fight in preparations for a global health crisis, officials in charge have caused a grave incident that poses a huge crisis to the safety of the nation and its people,” Kim was quoted by Yonhap as saying.