North Korean authorities have issued shoot-to-kill orders to prevent the coronavirus from entering the country from China, according to the commander of US forces in the South.
The impoverished North, whose health system in shambles would struggle to cope with a major virus outbreak, has not confirmed a single case of the disease that has plagued the world since it first emerged in China, the country’s key ally. North.
Pyongyang closed its border with China in January to try to prevent contamination, and in July state media said it had raised its state of emergency to the highest level.
The commander of the United States Forces in Korea (USFK), Robert Abrams, said that the closure of the border had increased the demand for contraband goods, prompting authorities to intervene.
North Korea introduced a new “buffer zone, a kilometer or two higher on the border with China,” Abrams said at an online conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on Thursday.
“They have the North Korean SOF (Special Operations Forces). … Strike forces, they have orders to shoot to kill.”
The border closure had “effectively accelerated the effects” of the economic sanctions imposed on the North for its nuclear programs, he added, with China’s imports falling 85 percent.
The isolated country is also dealing with the aftermath of Typhoon Maysak, with state media reporting that more than 2,000 houses have been destroyed or flooded.
As a result, Abrams did not expect to see any major provocation from Pyongyang in the near future, although he said it could showcase a new weapons system at next month’s celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the founding of Kim Jong Un’s ruling party.
“The regime at the moment, the military, is primarily focused on taking back their country and helping mitigate the risk of Covid-19,” he said.
“We are not seeing any indication at this time of any kind of attack.”
But CSIS posted on its website a satellite image of North Korea’s Sinpo South naval shipyard, which its experts believe shows activity that could indicate preparations for a test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
A new North Korean missile test would be yet another sign of the lack of progress in the denuclearization talks between the United States and Pyongyang, which have stalled despite multiple meetings between Kim and US President Donald Trump.
Trump, who is seeking reelection in November, was the first sitting American leader to meet with a member of the Kim dynasty, which has ruled North Korea since its founding.
On Thursday, Trump tweeted, without further explanation: “Kim Jong Un is in good health. Never underestimate him!”
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