North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is allegedly taking extreme measures to fight the spread of coronavirus in his country, including executing at least two people, according to reports.
South Korean intelligence officials told lawmakers Friday that the leader had fully locked down the nation’s capital, Pyongyang, banned fishing from the sea, and executed two individuals, according to the New York Post. Ha Tae-keung, one of the intelligence officials briefed, said Kim had been exhibiting “excessive anger” and implementing “irrational measures,” per the Post. (RELATED: REPORT: North Korean Hackers Have Targeted AstraZeneca In Recent Weeks)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “has been expressing emotional excess, anger and signs of stress, and increasingly giving unreasonable orders,” a South Korean lawmaker said. https://t.co/1m7nQTSrX0
— NPR (@NPR) November 27, 2020
South Korea alleges that Kim ordered the execution of a money changer in the capital last month, along with the killing of a key official in August, for violating rules regarding imported goods, the Post reports. Kim also reportedly ordered the hacking of a South Korean pharmaceutical company to gain information on a vaccine they are developing, the Post says. (RELATED: Here’s Where Biden’s Secretary Of State Pick Tony Blinken Stands On China, Iran, Russia, And More)
The dictator also banned fishing and salt production in the sea out of fear that seawater would become infected by the COVID-19 virus, per the Post. Despite the country reporting no coronavirus infections —which health experts dispute the accuracy of — officials are apparently worried that an outbreak would cripple the country’s inadequate healthcare system, according to the Post.