Kim Jong-un's sister warns South Korea of 'retaliation' over Covid

North Korea's Kim Yo-jong blames Seoul's propaganda leaflets for the country's Covid outbreak even as Pyongyang declares "shining victory" against the disease.

"It is very worrisome that South Korea is sending leaflets, money, sloppy brochures and items into our region," says Kim Yo-jong. (Reuters Archive)

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accused the South of causing a Covid outbreak in the country and warned of "retaliation", as Pyongyang declared "victory" over its outbreak.

Despite a ban that took effect in 2021, South Korean activists have for years flown balloons containing propaganda leaflets and US dollars over the border, which Pyongyang has long protested against.

On Thursday, Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, blamed these activities for the country's Covid outbreak, saying they were a "crime against humanity", the official Korea Central News Agency reported.

She said that many countries –– and the World Health Organization –– have acknowledged "the danger of spreading an infectious disease through contacting contaminated objects", according to the report.

"It is very worrisome that South Korea is sending leaflets, money, sloppy brochures and items into our region," she said.

Yo-jong warned that Pyongyang was considering "a strong retaliatory response", adding that if the balloons continued, "we will respond by eradicating not only the virus but also the South Korean authorities".

South Korea's unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs expressed regret.

"We express strong regrets over North Korea repeatedly making groundless claims over the route of the Covid and making very disrespectful and threatening remarks," the ministry said in a statement.

'Shining victory' against Covid

North Korea has previously said that "alien things" near the border with the South caused the Covid outbreak in the isolated country, a claim that Seoul has rejected.

Seoul last month said there have been "no officially verified cases of Covid infections via post or materials".

Yo-jong's comments come as her brother declared a "shining victory" in the battle against Covid-19 after officials reported no new cases of the virus for nearly two weeks.

North Korea has one of the world's worst healthcare systems, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units, and no Covid-19 treatment drugs or vaccines, experts say.

Even Kim Jong-un apparently suffered from Covid, according to Yo-jong's comments.

Kim "was suffering from high fever during the days of this quarantine war, but he could not lie down for a moment as he was thinking about the people he was responsible for", his sister said.

Source: AFP

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Accused man dies in custody after sister awakened from coma

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Daniel J. Palmer III had long been considered the key suspect in a brutal attack that left his sister comatose two years ago. But the case remained dormant — until she awakened last month.

Able to speak only a word at a time after coming out of a coma, Wanda Palmer identified her brother — with whom she had a violent past — as her attacker. Daniel Palmer was arrested on July 15.

Less than a week later, he was dead, likely bringing a close to a highly unusual case in which the investigation was stalled by a lack of evidence.

For now, there are two mysteries: a detainee's death, and an assault without a publicly disclosed motive.

Daniel Palmer was pronounced dead Thursday at a Charleston hospital, a day after he was taken there following an evaluation by jail medical staff, the state Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Division of Corrections, said in a news release.

The statement didn't indicate a cause of death and a spokeswoman for Department of Health and Human Resources, which oversees the state medical examiner's office, said state law only allows the agency to release autopsy information to relatives and law enforcement.

Palmer, 55, of Cottageville, was uncooperative while in custody and during booking procedures at the South Central Regional Jail, where he was taken after being charged with the attempted murder and malicious wounding of his sister, the statement said.

Wanda Palmer was in a coma in a nursing home for two years. She was found unconscious with serious head injuries at her home in Jackson County on June 10, 2020.

Daniel Palmer had been identified as a suspect, but up until the time she emerged from the coma, investigators did not have enough evidence to file charges, court documents said.

“Due to a previous violent history between Wanda Palmer and her brother Daniel Palmer, investigators initially considered Daniel a suspect in the assault," according to a criminal complaint filed in Jackson County Magistrate Court.

Investigators interviewed Daniel, who denied involvement in the attack, saying he had not been to his sister's home in days. Later, a witness told investigators he saw Daniel in the front doorway at Wanda Palmer's trailer on the night she was assaulted.

On June 27, more than two years after the attack, a deputy received a call from a protective services worker who said she had started to speak single words and seemed to respond when questioned.

On July 12, deputies drove to Genesis Healthcare in New Martinsville to speak with Wanda Palmer. Deputy Julia Bowen “entered Wanda's room alone and began speaking with her,” the complaint said. “Bowen asked opened ended questions of Wanda. Wanda indicated (that) she recalled living in her trailer near her mother's place. She indicated that she recalled being hurt there. She made mention of her head.”

Wanda Palmer said the person who injured her was her brother and she identified him as Daniel. When asked during the interview the reason behind the assault, “Wanda stated that he was mean,” according to the complaint.

Wanda Palmer ”appeared oriented to her situation. Her answers to questions were coherent and relevant. She asked for prayer."

Daniel Palmer was being held on a $500,000 bond. He was so combative when he was arrested that it took hours to get him to cooperate with authorities for an arraignment, which required a magistrate to leave a courthouse and come to the Jackson County sheriff’s office, WCHS-TV reported.

Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger was out of his office and unavailable for comment Friday.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/accused-man-dies-in-custody-after-sister-awakened-from-coma/?feed_id=419&_unique_id=62db1ac01f88e