North Korea leader Kim Jong-un 'suffered fever' during Covid outbreak

1. North Korea's Kim Jong-un suffered from "fever" during the Covid pandemic, his sister has said - in what appears to be the first suggestion he had the virus.

Kim Yo-jong also blamed South Korea for her country's outbreak - saying it sent leaflets contaminated with Covid across the border.

South Korea rejected the claims as "groundless". [@BBC]
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2. North Korea has been reporting zero cases of what it has been calling a "fever" for quite some time now and just hours ago, the North's state media reported Kim Jong-un had finally declared "victory" against COVID-19.

His sister was also present at the declaration and blamed South Korea for the outbreak north of the border.

Three months after admitting it had an outbreak, North Korea has declared victory in its battle against COVID-19.

The Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday that Kim Jong-un gave a speech the day before at a mass meeting on antivirus measures, where he "solemnly declared the victory in the maximum emergency anti-epidemic campaign for exterminating the novel coronavirus."

Kim also revealed the regime would lower its so-called "maximum virus prevention system" back to a normal level but cautioned against complacency, saying that the global health crisis is still ongoing in neighboring countries and that it's too early to completely lift curbs... including border lockdowns.

In a surprise move, his sister Kim Yo-jong also spoke during the meeting and blamed the spread of the virus in the North on "alien objects" and anti-Pyeongyang leaflets flown in on balloons from activists in South Korea. Calling them "crimes against humanity," she reportedly warned of intense retaliations... even threatening to "wipe out" South Korean authorities should the practice continue.
Kim also said her brother himself had suffered from fever symptoms, saying that even though the leader was "seriously ill with a high fever, he could not lie down for a moment thinking about the people he had to take care of." [@Arirang News]