May 16, 2022, 03:17am
The number of suspected cases in the country surged past 1.2 million in just four days after Kim ordered his military to step in.
People watch a TV screen showing a news program with an image of Kim.
According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the country has reported over 400,000 new people with the flu and eight new deaths.
The state media only reports the number of cases with the symptoms of Covid, as North Korea is believed to lack adequate supplies to carry out large scale testing.
50 deaths have been linked to the virus in North Korea.
Kim blamed his government and health officials at a Politburo meeting of the ruling party on Sunday for the country's bungled response to the H1N1 flu.
The leader of North Korea ordered his military to get involved in the distribution of the state's medicine reserves.
Kim and other members of the Politburo carried out on-site inspections of several pharmacy in the capital city of North Korea, where they found many shops in poor condition with some not wearing proper medical gowns.
556,860. The total number of people who are still being treated for the disease is more than half a million.
Kim ordered the health officials in the country to look into the cases of Covid-19 in the capital city. This was the first time that North Korea acknowledged a Covid-19 outbreak inside its borders. The decision to reveal the outbreak was seen by some as a sign that North Korea was seeking international help as the fast-spreading virus threatens to quickly overwhelm its already fragile healthcare system. The country's problems are worsened by the fact that most of its population is believed to be unvaccinated as North Korea had previously refused to accept vaccines offered to it as part of the U.N.-backed COVAX program.
Kim blasts the response to the outbreak.
There are more deaths and cases reported in North Korea.
Live updates on the coronaviruses.
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