North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has put a town near the South Korean border under lockdown over fears the country has its first case of coronavirus, state media announced.
According to North Korea 's Central News Agency (KCNA), the action was taken Friday afternoon after a resident of Kaesong was identified with suspected Covid-19 symptoms.
It added that the inpidual is a fugitive who had fled to South Korea years ago before crossing the border illegally into the North early last week.
If that person is officially declared a virus victim, he or she will be the first reported case of coronavirus in the North, with the country claiming steadfastly that it has no single case of the virus in its territory, an assertion being challenged by outside experts.
The news agency said respiratory secretion and blood tests showed the person with the virus "is suspected of being infected.
"The suspected case and those in touch, as well as those who have been to Kaesong over the last five days, have been put under quarantine, it said.
Describing its anti-virus efforts as a "matter of national nature," North Korea closed almost all cross-border traffic earlier this year, banned foreign visitors, and mobilized health staff to quarantine everyone with symptoms.
Mr. Kim urged officials earlier this month to remain alert to the danger of coronavirus, warning that the possibility of complacency is "unimaginable and irretrievable."
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