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Workers at a sports goods factory in Pyongyang disinfect the floor of a room
Photo: Cha Song Ho / dpa
North Korea blames "foreign objects" that flew across the border with South Korea for the corona outbreak in the country.
This emerges from statements by the state agency for epidemic prevention.
She warned citizens about the objects and explicitly mentioned, among other things, balloons that had been sent across the border from the south.
For years, activists in South Korea have been flying balloons with leaflets across the state border.
In the writings, they criticize North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Sometimes they also send banknotes or USB sticks with messages across the border.
The South Korean government banned balloon shipments last year so as not to provoke North Korea.
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Protest against North Korea: The balloon man teases Kim Jong UnKatharina Graça Peters reports from Seoul
South Korea contradicted the information from the north on Friday.
There is no way the balloons could have brought coronavirus to the north.
Activists suspected that the north wanted to ensure that citizens avoided the leaflets in the future.
"It's typical North Korean propaganda," said Lee Min-bok, a North Korean defector.
The regime is trying to stir up fear and hatred of South Korea.
Millions of fever sufferers in North Korea
North Korea had long claimed to be corona-free.
Meanwhile, there is obviously a major outbreak in the country.
On May 12, the government had to declare a state of emergency.
Authorities put the number of people with Covid-like symptoms, such as fever, at 4.7 million.
According to the official - and not very credible - information, there have been only 73 fatalities so far.
According to the North Korean state news agency, the outbreak was due to a border district in the south of the country.
There, a five-year-old child and a soldier tested positive after touching unidentified objects.
The virus then spread further in mid-April.
The authorities warned the population to report objects crossing the border immediately.
slu/AP
