SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared an emergency and a lockdown in a border city after a person suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus returned from South Korea after illegally crossing the border, state media said on Sunday.
If confirmed, it would be the first case officially recognized by North Korean authorities.
Kim called an emergency meeting of the politburo in response to what he called a “critical situation in which the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country,” state news from KCNA del Norte reported.
A person who defected to South Korea three years ago returned across the fortified border dividing the two Koreas to Kaesong City this month with symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, KCNA reported.
“An emergency event occurred in Kaesong City, where a fugitive who went south three years ago, a person suspected of having been infected with the vicious virus returned on July 19 after illegally crossing the demarcation line,” KCNA said.
KCNA did not say whether the person had been examined, but said “an uncertain result was obtained from various medical checks of the organ’s secretion and blood from that person’s upper respiratory tract,” prompting officials to put the quarantined person and investigate anyone who may have been in contact with
An analyst said the announcement was important, not only because North Korea was reporting a suspected coronavirus case for the first time, but also because it suggested it was asking for help.
“It is a watershed moment for North Korea to admit a case,” said Choo Jae-woo, a professor at Kyung Hee University.
“I could be looking for help in the world. Perhaps for humanitarian assistance.
North Korea is under great economic pressure due to international sanctions on its nuclear program.
Cho Han-bum, a member of the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said it was significant that North Korea reported that its first suspected coronavirus case was imported.
“North Korea is in such a dire situation, where they can’t even finish building Pyongyang General Hospital in time. Pointing to blame for an “imported case” from South Korea, the North can use this as a way to openly accept South aid, “Cho said.
KCNA did not elaborate on how the “fugitive” had crossed one of the world’s most heavily protected borders, but said the incident was under investigation and that the responsible military unit would face “severe punishment.”
South Korean authorities were checking whether a defector had crossed north again this month, the southern Yonhap news agency reported.
North Korea has received thousands of coronavirus test kits from Russia and other countries and imposed strict border closures.
Thousands of people in North Korea were also quarantined as they took precautions to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, but the restrictions had recently been eased.
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