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SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the execution of at least two people, banned sea fishing and locked down the capital, Pyongyang, as part of a frantic effort to guard against the coronavirus and its economic damage, the South Korean spy agency told lawmakers on Friday.
Kim’s government has also ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any act that could provoke the United States over concerns over President-elect Joe Biden’s expected new approach to Korea. North, lawmakers told reporters after attending a private National Intelligence Service briefing.
One of the lawmakers, Ha Tae-keung, quoted the NIS as saying Kim was displaying “excessive anger” and taking “irrational measures” in the face of the pandemic and its economic impact.
Ha said the NIS told lawmakers that North Korea had run a high profile bureau de change in Pyongyang last month after holding the person responsible for the drop in the exchange rate. He quoted the NIS as saying that North Korea also executed a key official in August for violating government regulations restricting goods imported 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 becoming infected with the virus, the NIS told lawmakers.
North Korea recently placed Pyongyang and northern Jagang province under lockdown due to virus concerns. Earlier this month, he imposed lockdown measures in other areas where authorities found unauthorized goods and foreign currency that had been imported, Ha said citing the NIS.
North Korea has also attempted to hack at least one South Korean pharmaceutical company that was trying to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus, the NIS said.
The agency has a mixed record in confirming developments in North Korea, one of the world’s top secret countries. The NIS said it could not immediately confirm the accounts of lawmakers.
North Korea has argued that it has not found a single case of the coronavirus on its soil, a claim disputed by outside experts, although it says it is making every effort to prevent the spread of the virus. A major epidemic could have dire consequences as the northern health system remains crippled and suffers from a chronic lack of medical supplies.
The pandemic forced North Korea to seal its border with China, its main trading partner and aid benefactor, in January. The shutdown, along with a series of natural disasters over the summer, took a heavy toll on the northern economy, which was sanctioned by US sanctions.
North Korea’s trade with China in the first 10 months of this year totaled $ 530 million, about 25% of the corresponding figure from last year. The price of sugar and seasonings has skyrocketed four times, Ha said citing the NIS.
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North Korean watch groups in Seoul said the exchange rate of the North Korean won against the dollar recently fell significantly because people found few places to use foreign currency after the smuggling was largely cut off after the Chinese border was closed.
According to the NIS briefing, North Korea has ordered overseas diplomatic missions not to provoke the United States, warning their ambassadors of the consequences if their comments or actions related to the United States cause problems in relations. with Washington.
The North Korean government has remained silent on Biden’s electoral victory over President Donald Trump, with whom Kim held three summits in 2018-19 on the North’s nuclear arsenal. As diplomacy finally came to a halt, the meetings helped Kim and Trump bond personally and end the crass slurs and threats of destruction they had previously traded.
Lawmaker Kim Byung-kee quoted the NIS as saying that North Korea was showing anxiety as its friendly relations with Trump became unnecessary and it had to start from scratch to face the new Biden administration.
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