State media didn’t explicitly say that Mr. Kim, the 38-year-old dictator, had contracted the virus. But the North Korean leader had recently fallen “seriously ill with a high fever,” according to remarks made by his sister,
Kim Yo Jong,
at a Wednesday meeting attended by top officials.
“He did not lie down for a moment, thinking of the people he had to take care of,” said Ms. Kim, as quoted in state media.
North Korea first disclosed the outbreak in May. Due to a lack of Covid-19 test kits, the impoverished country had tracked daily infections by tallying the number of fever cases. Some 4.77 million had gotten a fever, of which 74 died. No new cases have been reported since July 29.
It is unclear when Mr. Kim may have gotten sick. He was out of the public eye for roughly two weeks in June, and then around three weeks in July. Pyongyang had previously given no indication that Mr. Kim may have been potentially infected.
Kim Jong Un ordered North Korea to maintain border controls and strengthen quarantine measures to prevent new variants from spreading.
Photo:
KCNA/via REUTERS
At the Wednesday meeting, Mr. Kim, wearing a black Mao suit, appeared vibrant in photos published by state media. Calling it the “greatest miracle” in global health, Mr. Kim praised the country for exterminating the virus without vaccines and accepting maximum-level restrictions for three straight months.
“The long-suffered quarantine war is finally over and today we are able to solemnly declare victory,” Mr. Kim said.
It is plausible that Mr. Kim contracted Covid, given how he had appeared maskless at several events during the country’s outbreak, said Hong Min, of the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification, a government-funded think tank. But even if Mr. Kim had avoided the virus, Mr. Hong said, there would be compelling reasons to say that he had been infected.
“Claiming he led the country out of the outbreak despite experiencing fever symptoms…
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