After almost shutting down the operations with their biggest trading partner, Japanese intelligence sources discussed with a Washington DC-based Korea expert that the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received a coronavirus vaccination from the Chinese government.
The intelligence sources who refused to be named also shared to the senior director of the think tank Center for National Interest, Harry Kazianis, that not only the Supreme leader received the vaccine but also other high-ranking officials within the Kim family and leadership network were believed to have received the said vaccine which came from China sometime in the last two or three weeks.
In his nine-year rule, the health of Kim has often been the subject of rumors, as even his brief absence from public view earlier this year prompted speculation that Kim received a heart surgery or could have contracted COVID-19.
According to South Korean lawmakers, the 36-year-old dictator is a frequent smoker and obese which fueled speculations that he would experience medical complications if he will be contracting coronavirus, Reuters reported.
According to CNN, officials of the Chinese government claimed that they are currently working on phase three trials for a vaccine, which is the final approval, for five vaccine candidates.
Sinopharm, the producer of one of the experimental vaccine in the Chinese territory, had reportedly administered their product to close to a million individuals in China, and based on the reports related to the vaccination, none of them indicates serious adverse reactions from the vaccine as mentioned in an article published by the company on social media.
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The propaganda outlets of North Korea have been quiet regarding the infection rates in the country. But reports of Pyongyang include suspected cases however none of it has yet to be confirmed positive cases.
As the pandemic surged throughout the world in the summer, the Hermit state claimed that they had zero cases and that alone defector from South Korea had brought the disease across its borders.
Circulating news online regarding the global health crisis prompted North Korea to impose strict lockdowns, even going as far as cutting off trade routes with China, which is its neighbor and biggest trading partner.
During a Politburo meeting in August, Kim cited that the spread of the virus worldwide and announced that their country would enact stricter measures near the border, Voice of America reported.
Former chief of the CIA which is situated in South Korea, Bruce Klingner, previously shared to Business Insider that North Korea's situation was exacerbated due to its lack of resources.
Klingner also mentioned in August that it reflects the perfect storm of economic stresses that North Korea is suffering right now as it was already suffering from being isolated from the world.
He also added that there is that conflicting necessity to both shut down against coronavirus but also opening up for aid or humanitarian and medical assistance, which makes the regime just like other countries, struggling on how they will balance the two conflicting objectives.
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