International Organization Staff Withdraw One After Another from North Korea... North Korea Elevates COVID-19 Quarantine to 'Super-High' Level

North Korean Authorities Raise Quarantine to Highest Level Amid Global COVID-19 Resurgence

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] International relief organization officials who had been stationed in North Korea recently left Pyongyang. North Korea is responding by raising quarantine measures to the highest level to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the Voice of America (VOA) on the 4th, Graziela Reith Piccoli, Deputy Head of East Asia for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), stated in a press release that Red Cross staff left Pyongyang on the 2nd.

Deputy Head Piccoli added that ICRC staff have completed all projects in North Korea, and ongoing projects will be managed by the Beijing Red Cross office in China. He also mentioned that ICRC activities in North Korea had been very limited due to the spread of COVID-19.

Deputy Head Piccoli also told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that the ICRC continues to support the physical rehabilitation center in cooperation with the Korean Red Cross in North Korea, and that the Beijing office will handle this. He said, "According to the agreement with North Korea, we are prepared to send new staff when the situation allows in order to continue our activities and very important support."

Additionally, NK News, a North Korea-focused media outlet, reported that on the 2nd, more than 40 diplomats and relief agency staff, including UN agency personnel stationed in Pyongyang, left North Korea by land. Currently, international organization staff remaining in Pyongyang are known to include two from the World Food Programme (WFP) and one from the Irish NGO Concern Worldwide.

Earlier, as the trend of COVID-19 resurgence became clear, North Korea upgraded quarantine measures to the 'super highest' level. Stores, including restaurants and bathhouses, suspended operations.

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