Kim slams pandemic response, deploys army

Spot check: Kim visiting a pharmacy in Pyongyang. — AP

Seoul: Kim Jong-un slammed North Korea’s pandemic response and ordered the army to help distribute medicine, state media said, as the country said 50 people had died since first reporting an outbreak of Covid-19.

More than a million people have been sickened by what Pyongyang is referring to as “fever”, despite leader Kim ordering nationwide lockdowns in a bid to slow the spread of disease through the unvaccinated population.