North Korea’s Kim orders executions and locks down capital in anti-Covid drive

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (North Korea/AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered at least two people executed, banned fishing at sea and locked down the capital, Pyongyang, as part of frantic efforts to guard against coronavirus and its economic damage, South Korea’s spy agency told politicians.

Mr Kim’s government also ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any acts that could provoke the United States because it is worried about President-elect Joe Biden’s expected new approach toward North Korea, politicians told reporters after attending a private briefing by the National Intelligence Service.