S, analysts said on Tuesday, citing two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources.

Harry Qazi Honest, a North Korea expert at the U.

S.

Think tank Center for the National Interest, said the Kims and several senior North Korean officials have been vaccinated within the last 2 to 3 weeks.

He added that it was unclear which company had supplied its drug candidate to the Kims and whether it had proven to be safe.

Citing a U.

S medical scientists, Cassie Honest also said at least three Chinese companies were developing a coronavirus vaccine, including Sina Back can, Sino Bio and Sino farm.

Sino Farm says its candidate has been used by nearly one million people in China, but none of the firms are known to have publicly launched late stage clinical trials of their experimental coded 19 drugs.

However, other experts have expressed doubt that Kim would use an experimental vaccine.

North Korea has not confirmed any coronavirus infections, but South Korea's National Intelligence Service has said an outbreak there can't be ruled out.

North Korea had trade and people to people exchanges with China, where Cove in 19 1st broke out before shutting its border in late January, Microsoft said in November 2 North Korean hacking groups had tried to break into the network of vaccine developers and multiple countries, without specifying the companies targeted, sources told Reuters.

They included British drugmaker AstraZeneca, and South Korea said last week it had foiled the North's attempts to hack into its own Covad 19 vaccine makers.