Covid may be factor in lack of North Korea response to outreach, White House official says

Officials from the United States said on Saturday that it appears North Korea is facing a “quite serious situation” with Covid. “The US is prepared to take steps to help with North Korea's problems, including Covid,” senior Biden administration officials were quoted as saying by Reuters.

COVID-19 restrictions may be playing a role in North Korea's lack of response to offers of diplomatic talks, a senior U.S. administration official said on Sunday, a day after President Joe Biden said he had offered vaccines to Pyongyang.

FILE - People watch a TV screen showing a news program reporting with an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a train station in Seoul, South Korea on May 16, 2022. North Korean propaganda describes an all-out effort to fight a suspected COVID-19 outbreak that has sickened nearly 2 million people. But defectors say fear is palpable among North Korean citizens who lack access to hospital care and struggle to afford even basic medicine.  (AP)

Biden is in South Korea before heading to Japan later on Sunday as part of his first trip through Asia as president.