Top North Korean officials sacked after 'crucial' Covid-19 incident

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un replaced several senior officials after a ‘crucial’ coronavirus incident, state media reported Wednesday, potentially signalling a breach in the country's epidemic defences. Pyongyang closed its borders in January last year to try to protect itself against the virus that first emerged in neighbouring China and has gone on to sweep the world. It has not publicly confirmed any cases of the disease at any point, either in state media or in the test statistics it has disclosed to the World Health Organization. But analysts said the latest development was a clear indication there had been infections in the isolated North, which is under international sanctions for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.