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It indicated that there would be some “legal” consequences for the officials.

The news agency said that some members of the Politburo and its Presidium, as well as some Workers’ Party secretaries, have been replaced. It did not provide further details. In North Korea, all power is concentrated in the monolithic leadership of Mr. Kim, and he has frequently reshuffled the party and military elites, holding them responsible for policy failures.

The North claims officially to be free of Covid-19, although outside experts remain skeptical, citing the country’s public health system and lack of extensive testing.

But North Korea, aware of its vulnerability to epidemics, has also enforced some of the harshest measures against the spread of the virus.

Last year, it created a buffer zone along the border with China, issuing a shoot-to-kill order to stop unauthorized crossings, according to South Korean and U.S. officials. South Korean lawmakers briefed by their government’s National Intelligence Service last year have said that North Korea executed an official for violating a trade ban imposed to fight the virus.

Last July, when a man from South Korea defected to the North, North Korea declared a national emergency for fear he might have brought the virus.