North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family were recently given an experimental coronavirus vaccine from China, a US analyst said on Tuesday.
The Kims were vaccinated “within the last two to three weeks thanks to a vaccine candidate supplied by the Chinese government,” Harry Kazianis, a North Korea expert at the Center for the National Interest think tank in Washington, wrote in an article for the online outlet 19FortyFive.
Kazianis added that it’s unclear which Chinese company provided its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, or if it was proven to be safe.
At least three Chinese companies were developing a coronavirus vaccine, including Sinophram Group, Sinovac Biotech Ltd and CanSinoBio, Kazianis said, citing US medical scientist Peter Hotez.
None of the companies have revealed results of the Phase 3 clinical trials of their coronavirus drugs, which are being conducted outside of China. But Sinophram has said nearly one million people in China have used its vaccine candidate.
North Korea has not reported any coronavirus infections. But experts outside the country have been skeptical of that claim — pointing out that it shares a border with China, the original source of the outbreak.
The vaccination news comes as the Hermit Kingdom was reported to have beefed up security at its borders to defend against the pandemic.
With Post wires