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North Korea has 1st case of coronavirus infection: report

Supermarket assistants wear face masks at the Munsu-dong diplomatic compound amid the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus. Yevgeny Agoshkov/TASS/

By Park Si-soo

A North Korean woman living in Pyongyang recently tested positive for coronavirus and those who had contact with her are being quarantined, a South Korean newspaper reported on Friday, citing a source in the reclusive state.

The woman showed symptoms of the infection after a trip to China, according to the JoongAng Ilbo. Further information ― including personal details of the patient, the exact date of her infection and her condition ― remains unknown.

North Korea's state broadcaster said on Feb. 2 that the country had yet to confirm any case of infection, its most recent update. If the report is true, the woman's infection would have been confirmed early this week.

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"As the chances of coronavirus spreading into North Korea increase, authorities started putting all people who had overseas trips recently into quarantine for a certain period," the source was quoted as saying. "The first patient is a woman living in Pyongyang. All people who had contact with her are being quarantined."

Last week, the North announced the launch of a national emergency system against the virus, calling the preventive efforts a "political matter" that could determine the country's fate.

It has closed its borders with China and initiated measures to avoid fallout from the pathogenic disaster.