Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

COVID-19: Kim Jong Un warns of 'great turmoil' for North Korea as country announces 21 'fever-related' deaths

COVID-19: Kim Jong Un warns of 'great turmoil' for North Korea as country announces 21 'fever-related' deaths

The outbreak could have very serious consequences as the 26 million population is believed to be mostly unvaccinated.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says a "great turmoil" has befallen his country after 21 daily deaths were reported - possibly from COVID-19.

State news agency KCNA said 280,810 people were in quarantine and 27 had died since a fever of unidentified origins started to be reported in the country in late April.

On Thursday, Pyongyang announced one death from coronavirus - as Mr Kim ordered a strict national lockdown.

KCNA did not say whether any of the new deaths were because of coronavirus.

"The spread of the malignant epidemic is a great turmoil to fall on our country since the founding," Mr Kim told an emergency meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, KCNA said.

Since late April, 524,440 people have shown signs of fever, including 174,440 new cases on Friday, KCNA added.

The crisis has been caused by the incompetence and irresponsibility of party organisations, Mr Kim reportedly said, while the country must have faith in its ability to overcome the crisis in the shortest possible period.

Aidan Foster-Carter, a North Korea expert from Leeds University, said it was striking that Mr Kim appeared to be describing the situation as the worst disaster since the foundation of the republic.

Mr Foster-Carter told Sky News: "He may have a short memory - he's quite young.

"That (statement) would include the Korean War, in which four million people died, and the famine in the 1990s where we don't know quite how many died but it was in the hundreds of thousands."

He added: "They say the state is in turmoil. North Korea doesn't do turmoil - I don't think it knows how to do turmoil."

The tentative public admission of COVID infections highlights the potential for a major crisis in a country that has refused to accept international help with immunisation.

Mr Foster-Carter said the people of North Korea may be "wholly unvaccinated".

He continued: "North Korea is one of just two countries in the world - the other bring Eritrea, often called the North Korea of Africa - which hasn't vaccinated anybody, officially, as far as we know.

"People have been offering - China's been offering, the WHO, South Korea."

Outlining the scale of the problem, Mr Foster-Carter said: "Half the population is malnourished - comorbidities with things like TB is going to be a problem - I really don't quite know where it goes. I think (Kim) is going to have to ask for help.

"And I think maybe going public is the first step towards doing that."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×