North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sacked several top officials after a "grave incident" in the country's efforts to defend itself against Covid-19, news agency AP has reported citing state media.
North Korea has claimed that it has detected not a single coronavirus infections throughout the pandemic. This despite sharing a border with its ally China, where the Covid-19 pandemic started.
But officials had "caused a grave incident that poses a huge crisis to the safety of the nation and its people", Kim Jong Un told a politburo meeting, according to the reports. The reports, however, did not describe the "grave incident".
North Korea had sealed its borders, banned tourists, jetted out diplomats and severely curtailed cross-border traffic and trade to defend itself from Covid pandemic.