North Korea reports first suspected COVID-19 case, Kim Jong Un declares State of Emergency

North Korea reported its first case of suspected COVID-19, in a person who returned to the North on July 19, state news agency KCNA reported on Sunday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened an emergency meeting after the country’s first suspected case of Covid-19 was reported, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday morning local time.

KCNA reported that the infected individual illegally entered North Korea through Kaesong City on July 19 after defecting to South Korea three years ago.

The patient has received medical checkups and has been quarantined, along with everyone the individual has been in contact with recently, KCNA reported.

Kim Jong Un put isolation measures in place for regions around Kaesong and declared a state of emergency in one “relevant area,” KCNA reported.

The country’s Central Military Commission will investigate the unit responsible for the illegal entry of the patient and “administer a severe punishment,” KCNA reported.