North Korea is “increasing its number of guard posts” and “building a strong wall of defense at its borders” to stop coronavirus from entering the country, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday.
The public has been instructed to take immediate actions for any small abnormalities, to disinfect products and to remove garbage from the sea in an effort to stop the virus, the report said.
In addition, the report said the nation is “taking strong measures to root out any unhygienic or inappropriate conditions that could allow any room for transmission of the virus.”
South Korea’s spy agency told the parliamentary intelligence committee Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is making “unreasonable responses regarding Covid-19 prevention measures,” said Ha Tae-keung, a member of the committee briefed by the agency.
North Korea’s borders have been shut since January after reports of Covid-19 emerged in China. The regime claims it has no confirmed cases of coronavirus but many experts are skeptical.
According to the latest situation report released by the World Health Organization in early November, North Korea tested more than 12,000 samples for the coronavirus and received no positive results.