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| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un holds an emergency meeting in this photo released on Saturday. Photo: KCNA |
SEOUL: North Korea first acknowledged within its borders a suspected case of COVID-19 after a defector suspected of returning the virus from South Korea earlier this month.
"An emergency occurred in Kaesong City where a fugitive who went to the South three years ago, a person suspected of having been infected with the vicious virus, returned on 19 July after crossing the demarcation line illegally," said KCNA news agency.
Pyongyang had insisted so far that not a single infection breached the borders of the country, which remain closed, media reports said.
Following the news of the potential outbreak, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called an emergency meeting of the political bureau, declared a state of emergency, and put a lockdown on Kaesong 's border.
KCNA did not confirm that the individual was being checked, but said that a "uncertain outcome" from a medical checkup had prompted officials to quarantine the person and track his contacts.
(With inputs from agencies)
