North Korea's All-Out Effort to Block 'Wuhan Pneumonia' Entry... Complete Ban on Entry from China to North Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] North Korea is urging its residents to be cautious as it reports the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, commonly referred to as 'Wuhan pneumonia.'

According to related agencies on the 25th, the Air China flights operating between Pyongyang, North Korea, and Beijing, China, have been suspended for the time being. The Russian Embassy in North Korea announced on its Facebook account on the 24th that "On the 23rd, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified us that Air China flights between Beijing and Pyongyang are canceled until February 10," adding that "entry from China to North Korea has been completely banned."

Travel to China by foreigners residing in North Korea has also been temporarily halted. The UK Foreign Office stated on its website on the 24th in an updated 'North Korea Travel Advisory' that "North Korean authorities have temporarily prohibited foreign residents from traveling to China." As of the morning of that day, no confirmed cases of Wuhan pneumonia had been reported in North Korea.

Meanwhile, the Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on the same day in an article titled 'Expansion of Damage Caused by the Novel Coronavirus' about the outbreak situations in neighboring China as well as the United States, Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore.

The newspaper stated, "Recently, damage caused by the novel coronavirus has been expanding," and pointed out that "various countries' media are reporting that the impact on the global economy could be greater than during the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the past."

It added, "Currently, stricter inspections are being conducted at immigration checkpoints and airports worldwide to prevent the contagious pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus infection."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.