Kim Jong Un ordering executions and lockdowns in anti- Covid push
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered at least two people executed, banned fishing at sea and locked down the capital, Pyongyang, as part of frantic efforts to guard against coronavirus and its economic damage, according to reports from South Korea's spy agency.
Mr Kim's government also ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any acts that could provoke the United States because it is worried about President-elect Joe Bid en' s expected new approach toward North Korea, politicians told reporters after attending a private briefing by the National Intelligence Service.
One of the politicians, Ha Tae- keung, quoted the NIS as saying Mr Kim is displaying "excessive anger" and taking "irrational measures" over the pandemic and its economic impact.
Mr Ha said the NIS told politicians that North Korea executed a high- profile money changer in Pyongyang last month after holding the person responsible for a falling exchange rate.
He quoted the NIS as saying that North Korea also executed a key official in August for violating government regulations restricting goods brought from abroad.
The two people were not identified by name.
North Korea has also banned fishing and salt production at sea to prevent seawater from being infected with the virus, and recently placed Pyongyang and northern Jagang province under lockdown over virus concerns.
Earlier this month, it imposed lockdown measures in other areas where officials found unauthorised goods and foreign currencies that were brought in.
It was reported that North Korea also made an unsuccessful hacking attempt on at least one South Korean pharmaceutical company that was trying to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
North Korea has maintained that it has not found a single coronavirus case on its soil, a claim disputed by outside experts, although it says it is making all- out efforts to prevent the virus's spread.
A major outbreak could have dire consequences because the North's health care system remains crippled 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 January.
The closure, along with a series of natural disasters over the summer, dealt a heavy blow to the North's economy, which has been under punishing US- led sanctions.
North Korea's government has remained silent over Mr Biden's election victory over President Donald Trump, with whom Mr Kim held three summits in 2018- 19 over the North's nuclear arsenal.
Experts have been debating whether North Korea will resume major missile tests soon to try to get Mr Biden's attention. During past government changes in the US, North Korea often conducted big weapons launches in an attempt to increase its leverage in negotiations with a new US administration. The NIS expects North Korea will hold a military parade in January in a show of force timed with Mr Biden's inauguration.