North Korea's Kim berates officials for 'grave' coronavirus lapse

KCNA reported that Kim made these comments at a Politburo meeting held by the Workers Party to discuss anti-virus failures. According to KCNA, Kim criticised senior officials for their incompetence, inattention and passiveness when planning and executing antivirus measures in the midst of a prolonged pandemic.The officials responsible for creating a crisis in the country's safety by failing to make important decisions for the party, according to Kim, the KCNA paraphrased.Although North Korea claims it hasn't found any coronavirus infections after testing over 30,000 people, experts doubt this claim. Experts also question the country's poor infrastructure in terms of its ties to China.North Korea declared its anti-virus efforts a matter national existence from the beginning of the pandemic. It banned tourists and expelled diplomats. It severely restricted cross-border trade and traffic. This lockdown has added to the stress on an already fragile economy that was already suffering from decades of mismanagement and crippling U.S. sanctions related to its nuclear weapons program.Kim urged officials at a conference earlier in the month to prepare for Covid-19 restrictions for the long-term, which indicated that the country is not ready to open its borders soon despite its economic woes.With uncertainty over the country's vaccine prospects, North's expanded border controls were implemented. COVAX, a U.N.-backed program that ships COVID-19 vaccines around the world, stated in February that North could receive 1.9million doses, but plans were stalled by global shortages.