North Korea on High Alert for COVID-19 Defectors... Dual Lockdown of Kaesong City and Border

A North Korean defector who escaped in 2017 is recently presumed to have returned to North Korea. On the morning of the 27th, the area of Kaepung County, Hwanghaebuk-do, North Korea, viewed from Yangsa-myeon, Ganghwa Island, remains quiet.

After North Korea announced that a defector suspected of being infected with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crossed back into the North, it has completely locked down Kaesong City and strengthened border blocking and lockdown measures.

North Korea's state-run media, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported on the 28th in an article titled "Measures to Further Strengthen Quarantine Work in Accordance with the Maximum Emergency System," stating that "the complete lockdown of Kaesong City, as well as area-by-area and district-by-district closures, quarantines, and inspection operations are being strictly carried out."

The report added that "inspection equipment, quarantine supplies, and various medicines are being rapidly supplied" to Kaesong City, and that testing and quarantine of residents are underway under the full lockdown of the city.

It also introduced that for the quarantined residents of Kaesong, "measures are being established and strongly enforced to guarantee necessary food, hygiene products, and firewood for daily life."

Efforts to prevent the inflow of COVID-19 from outside the border are also continuing.

The agency stated, "The Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Command is further strengthening blocking and lockdowns at the borders, demarcation lines, and coastal lines, and is increasing the deployment of quarantine posts and personnel at key points."

It also revealed that during export and import processes, "workers in charge of inspection and quarantine of export and import goods are strictly adhering to quarantine regulations in inspecting, quarantining, and disinfecting delivered goods to prevent virus contamination."

Furthermore, "health workers are intensifying inspections of residents to ensure that not even a tiny breach occurs in quarantine work, and are demanding thorough mask-wearing and hand sanitization," emphasizing meticulous quarantine measures once again.

North Korea announced on the 26th through KCNA and other state media that "an emergency incident occurred where a defector suspected of being infected with COVID-19 illegally crossed the demarcation line and returned (crossed back into North Korea) on July 19 after three years."

Accordingly, on the 25th, Chairman Kim Jong Un convened an emergency expanded meeting of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee, upgrading the national emergency quarantine system to a 'maximum emergency system' and issuing a special alert.

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