SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared an emergency and a lockdown in a border town after a person suspected of being infected with the coronavirus returned from South Korea after illegally crossing the border, state media said on Sunday.
If confirmed, it would be the first case officially acknowledged by North Korean authorities.
Kim convened an emergency politburo meeting in response to what he called a “critical situation in which the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country,” the North’s KCNA state news reported.
A person who defected to South Korea three years ago returned across the fortified border that divides the two Koreas to the town of Kaesong this month with symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, KCNA reported.
“An emergency event happened in Kaesong City where a runaway who went to the south three years ago, a person who is suspected to have been infected with the vicious virus returned on July 19 after illegally crossing the demarcation line,” KCNA said.
KCNA did not say if the person had been tested, but said an “uncertain result was made from several medical check-ups of the secretion of that person’s upper respiratory organ and blood,” prompting officials to quarantine the person and investigate anyone he may have been in contact with.
One analyst said the announcement was important, not only because North Korea was for the first time reporting a suspected coronavirus case but also because it suggested it was appealing for help.
“It’s an ice-breaking moment for North Korea to admit a case,” said Choo Jae-woo, a professor at Kyung Hee University.
“It could be reaching out to the world for help. Perhaps for humanitarian assistance.”
North Korea is under economic pressure because of international sanctions over its nuclear program.
Cho Han-bum, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said it was significant that North Korea was reporting its first suspected coronavirus case was imported.
“North Korea is in such a dire situation, where they can’t even finish building the Pyongyang General Hospital on time. Pointing the blame at an ‘imported case’ from South Korea, the North can use this as a way to openly accept aid from the South,” Cho said.
KCNA did not elaborate on how the unidentified “runaway” had crossed one of the world’s most heavily guarded borders but said the incident was being investigated and the military unit responsible would face “severe punishment.”
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staffs (JCS) said there was a “high chance” that someone had indeed crossed and the military was checking surveillance footage. It even suggested it might be able to identify the person.
“Our military has specified some people and is verifying facts in close collaboration with related agencies,” the JCS said.
North Korea has received thousands of coronavirus testing kits from Russia and other countries and imposed strict border closures.
Thousands of people in North Korea were also quarantined as it took precautions to prevent a coronavirus outbreak but restrictions had recently been eased.
![]()
North Korea declares emergency in border town over first suspected COVID-19 case
Short Url
https://arab.news/vx3db
North Korea declares emergency in border town over first suspected COVID-19 case
- Kim Jong Un: ‘Critical situation in which the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country’
US lifts some Venezuela sanctions to ease oil sales
- Broad US license eases some sanctions on Venezuelan oil
- Does not ease measures on production of Venezuelan crude
WASHINGTON: The administration of President Donald Trump lifted some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry on Thursday to make it easier for US companies to sell its crude oil, and said more restrictions on the country would be lifted soon.
The move by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control authorizes US companies to buy, sell, transport, store and refine Venezuelan crude oil, but does not lift existing US sanctions on production.
A White House official said the measure “would help flow existing product” from Venezuela and that there will soon be more announcements on the easing of sanctions.
Trump has said the United States intends to control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues indefinitely since US forces seized the country’s leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid on the capital Caracas on January 3.
He has said he also wants US oil companies to eventually invest $100 billion dollars to restore the OPEC-member nation’s production to its historic peaks following years of underinvestment and mismanagement.
In the meantime, Washington and Caracas have already agreed an initial deal to sell 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, with European trading houses Vitol and Trafigura marketing the supply.
Treasury’s new authorization, known as a general license, opens up Venezuela oil trade to additional companies, provided they are from the United States.
It allows transactions involving the government of Venezuela and state oil company PDVSA related to “the lifting, exportation, reexportation, sale, resale, supply, storage, marketing, purchase, delivery, or transportation of Venezuelan-origin oil, including the refining of such oil, by an established US entity.”
It specifically excludes firms and individuals from rivals like China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Russia.
During President Donald Trump’s first administration, Treasury designated Venezuela’s entire energy industry as subject to US sanctions in 2019 after Maduro’s first re-election, which Washington did not recognize.
The new license does not authorize any payment terms that are not commercially reasonable, involve debt swaps or payments in gold, or are denominated in digital currency.
America first
Oil producers Chevron, Repsol and ENI, refiner Reliance Industries, and some US oil service providers had sought licenses in recent weeks to expand output or exports from the OPEC member.
Expanding production in the country would require additional US authorizations.
Jeremy Paner, a lawyer at Hughes Hubbard & Reed and a former OFAC sanctions investigator, said the authorization is broad in the sense that it opens up many operations including refining, transportation and “lifting” of Venezuelan oil.
But he said the scope is narrow in that it only applies to US companies.
Kevin Book, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners, said the authorization could provide clarity for US companies while maintaining the previous standard of case-by-case review for non-US entities.
“In short, it appears to offer ‘America First, Others Ask’ sanctions relief.”
The large number of individual requests to the US government had delayed progress on plans to expand exports and get investment moving quickly into Venezuela, two sources said this week.
The new OFAC license, meanwhile, came as lawmakers in Venezuela on Thursday approved a sweetened reform of the country’s main oil law that is expected to grant autonomy to private producers in joint ventures or under new contracts to operate their projects and commercialize the output.
It also formalizes an oil production-sharing model first introduced by Maduro and negotiated with little-known energy firms in recent years.
Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute in Houston, said he wondered if the exclusion of Russian and Chinese entities would make it hard for PDVSA to operate or market oil from those ventures. Ventures with those countries produce about 22 percent of the oil, he said.
“If they cannot export the oil coming from these ventures, that’s a big problem.”
The move by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control authorizes US companies to buy, sell, transport, store and refine Venezuelan crude oil, but does not lift existing US sanctions on production.
A White House official said the measure “would help flow existing product” from Venezuela and that there will soon be more announcements on the easing of sanctions.
Trump has said the United States intends to control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues indefinitely since US forces seized the country’s leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid on the capital Caracas on January 3.
He has said he also wants US oil companies to eventually invest $100 billion dollars to restore the OPEC-member nation’s production to its historic peaks following years of underinvestment and mismanagement.
In the meantime, Washington and Caracas have already agreed an initial deal to sell 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, with European trading houses Vitol and Trafigura marketing the supply.
Treasury’s new authorization, known as a general license, opens up Venezuela oil trade to additional companies, provided they are from the United States.
It allows transactions involving the government of Venezuela and state oil company PDVSA related to “the lifting, exportation, reexportation, sale, resale, supply, storage, marketing, purchase, delivery, or transportation of Venezuelan-origin oil, including the refining of such oil, by an established US entity.”
It specifically excludes firms and individuals from rivals like China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Russia.
During President Donald Trump’s first administration, Treasury designated Venezuela’s entire energy industry as subject to US sanctions in 2019 after Maduro’s first re-election, which Washington did not recognize.
The new license does not authorize any payment terms that are not commercially reasonable, involve debt swaps or payments in gold, or are denominated in digital currency.
America first
Oil producers Chevron, Repsol and ENI, refiner Reliance Industries, and some US oil service providers had sought licenses in recent weeks to expand output or exports from the OPEC member.
Expanding production in the country would require additional US authorizations.
Jeremy Paner, a lawyer at Hughes Hubbard & Reed and a former OFAC sanctions investigator, said the authorization is broad in the sense that it opens up many operations including refining, transportation and “lifting” of Venezuelan oil.
But he said the scope is narrow in that it only applies to US companies.
Kevin Book, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners, said the authorization could provide clarity for US companies while maintaining the previous standard of case-by-case review for non-US entities.
“In short, it appears to offer ‘America First, Others Ask’ sanctions relief.”
The large number of individual requests to the US government had delayed progress on plans to expand exports and get investment moving quickly into Venezuela, two sources said this week.
The new OFAC license, meanwhile, came as lawmakers in Venezuela on Thursday approved a sweetened reform of the country’s main oil law that is expected to grant autonomy to private producers in joint ventures or under new contracts to operate their projects and commercialize the output.
It also formalizes an oil production-sharing model first introduced by Maduro and negotiated with little-known energy firms in recent years.
Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute in Houston, said he wondered if the exclusion of Russian and Chinese entities would make it hard for PDVSA to operate or market oil from those ventures. Ventures with those countries produce about 22 percent of the oil, he said.
“If they cannot export the oil coming from these ventures, that’s a big problem.”
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.