Covid 19 coronavirus: North Korea executed people and closed Pyongyang to protect against virus, says South Korea agency

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of at least two people, banned sea fishing and blocked the capital Pyongyang as part of frantic efforts to protect against the coronavirus and its economic damage, the US spy agency said on Friday. South Korea to lawmakers.

The Kim government also ordered diplomats abroad to refrain from any acts that could provoke the United States, as it is concerned about President-elect Joe Biden’s possible new approach to North Korea, lawmakers told reporters. after attending a private briefing by the National Intelligence Service.

One of the lawmakers, Ha Tae-keung, quoted the NIS as saying that Kim is displaying “excessive anger” and taking “irrational measures” over the pandemic and its economic impact.

Ha said the NIS told lawmakers that North Korea executed a high-profile money changer in Pyongyang last month after holding the person responsible for the exchange rate drop. He quoted the NIS as saying that North Korea also executed a key official in August for violating government regulations that restrict products brought in from abroad. The two people were not identified.

North Korea has also banned fishing and salt production in the sea to prevent seawater from becoming infected with the virus, the NIS told lawmakers.

North Korea recently placed Pyongyang and the northern province of Janggang under lockdown due to concerns about the virus. Earlier this month, he imposed lockdown measures in other areas where officials found unauthorized goods were brought in, Ha said, citing the NIS.

North Korea also made a failed hacking attempt on at least one South Korean pharmaceutical company that was trying to develop a coronavirus vaccine, the NIS said.

The agency has a mixed record in confirming events in North Korea, one of the world’s most secretive nations.

The NIS said it could not immediately confirm the legislators’ comments.

North Korea has maintained that it has not found a single case of the virus on its territory, a claim disputed by outside experts, although it says it is doing everything it can to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. A major outbreak could have dire consequences as the North’s health care system remains paralyzed and suffers from a chronic lack of medical supplies.

The pandemic forced North Korea to seal its border with China, its biggest trading partner and aid benefactor, in June. The shutdown, along with a series of natural disasters over the summer, has dealt a severe blow to the North’s economy, which has been under severe sanctions led by the United States.

The North’s trade with China in the first 10 months of this year stood at $ 530 million, about 25 percent of the corresponding figure last year. The price of sugar and condiments has soared four times, Ha quoted the NIS as saying.

North Korean monitoring groups in Seoul said the exchange rate between the won and the North Korean dollar has dropped significantly recently because people found few places to use foreign currency after smuggling has largely stopped. as a consequence of the closure of the border with China.

According to the NIS report, North Korea ordered diplomatic missions abroad not to provoke the United States, warning its ambassadors of the consequences if their comments or actions related to the United States cause any problems in relations with Washington.

The North Korean government is silent on Biden’s electoral victory over President Donald Trump, with whom Kim Jong Un held three unprecedented summits in 2018-19 on the future of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. While diplomacy eventually stalled, the meetings helped Kim and Trump build personal ties and stop the insults and threats of destruction they had previously exchanged.

Lawmaker Kim Byung-kee quoted the NIS as saying that North Korea is showing anxiety as its friendly ties with Trump become useless and it has to start from scratch to deal with the incoming Biden administration.

Experts have been debating whether North Korea would soon resume a major missile test to try to get Biden’s attention. During past government changes in the US, North Korea often conducted large gun drops to increase its influence in future negotiations with a new US administration.