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Kim Jong Un Attends Mentor’s Funeral Without a Face Mask as North Korea Minimizes COVID

North Korean clusters COVID cases with other conditions as “fever”—and claims it’s not that bad.

North Koran leader Kim Jong Un was pictured Monday at the funeral of a top aide who reportedly acted as his mentor before his father died. State media ran images of Kim carrying the coffin of Hyon Chol Hae, and throwing soil on his coffin at the graveside. Kim did not wear a face mask in the images published Monday, but other attendees did. The country has claimed that its coronavirus outbreak, only admitted to in recent weeks, is subsiding, but outsiders have questioned that claim. The secretive state, which still has harsh restrictions in place, including a banning of inter-regional movement, said Monday that 167,650 new “fever” cases had been detected in the past 24 hours but that the fever’s fatality rate was only 0.002%. In South Korea, where almost everyone is fully vaccinated and well-nourished, unlike in the North, the COVID fatality rate is 0.13%. State media quoted Kim as saying: “The name of Hyon Chol Hae would be always remembered along with the august name of Kim Jong Il.” Kim was pictured weeping for Hyon last week.