North Korea claimed Friday that the country’s recent COVID-19 outbreak began after people came into contact with “alien things” along its border with South Korea.
North Korean officials said two people were exposed to the virus in the Ipho-ri area of Kumgang County, north of the Demilitarized Zone separating the country from South Korea, in early April and warned citizens they must “vigilantly deal with alien things” brought over the border by “balloons” or “other climate phenomena,” as reported by the New York Times.
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Though North Korea did not directly fault South Korea, South Korean officials shot down claims Friday that COVID-19 could have been brought into the country by balloons, citing health experts.
For years, North Korean defectors have sent balloons filled with anti-Pyongyang leaflets, money, flash drives, and other information from the outside world over the border to North Korea. In 2020, South Korea passed a law making it illegal to send select types of items north of the border without the South Korean government’s permission, arguing it could provoke North Korea.
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North Korea acknowledged its first COVID-19 case on May 12 and has since reported more than 4.7 million cases of people developing symptoms of the disease, such as a high fever. The country has a population of roughly 25 million people. The international community has remained skeptical of North Korea’s reporting, calling its data into question.
