China gave Covid-19 vaccine candidate to North Korea's Kim, says US analyst

Published
0

China has provided North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family with an experimental coronavirus vaccine, Reuters reported quoting a US analyst who cited two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources.

Harry Kazianis, a North Korea expert at the Centre for the National Interest think tank in Washington, said the Kims and several senior North Korean officials had been vaccinated.

It was unclear which company had supplied its drug candidate to the Kims and whether it had proven to be safe, he added.

“Kim Jong Un and multiple other high-ranking officials within the Kim family and leadership network have been vaccinated for coronavirus within the last two to three weeks thanks to a vaccine candidate supplied by the Chinese government,” Kazianis wrote in an article for online outlet 19FortyFive.

Opinion

Editorial

Farming reform
Updated 06 Oct, 2026

Farming reform

Agriculture needs investment, but not another round of costly interventions.
Improved performance
06 Oct, 2026

Improved performance

THE recently concluded Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, were a revival of sorts for Pakistan, and a huge upgrade...
Mass surveillance
06 Oct, 2026

Mass surveillance

THE new National Cybercrime Investigation Agency chief, Ali Nasir Rizvi, has adopted a “zero-tolerance policy...
After the talks
Updated 05 Oct, 2026

After the talks

Considering how close they came to a solution, govt and opposition teams should reconvene to give the talks another chance.
Child safety online
Updated 05 Oct, 2026

Child safety online

Pakistani children are spending more of their lives online, but the safeguards around them are not keeping pace.
Rising public debt
05 Oct, 2026

Rising public debt

Pakistan’s public debt has surged by 76pc to Rs86.7tr in four years, according to a new government report.