Kim Jong-un has reportedly ordered North Korean troops to open fire on anyone who goes within half a mile of the country’s border with China to avoid coronavirus spreading.
It comes after the dictator back-peddled on claims his country is totally untouched by the deadly global outbreak.
Instructions have been sent out to shoot anyone who goes within a kilometre of the border with China, according to incendiary reports.
The draconian move has been made despite Jong-un previously stating North Korea is free from Covid-19 – and he isn’t worried by the pandemic.
But he accepted last month that it “could have entered” the country after all.
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News of the alleged policy was reported by Radio Free Asia from multiple sources within North Korea.
A resident of the country’s Hamgyong province said they’d been told the policy “will be in effect along the entire North Korea-China border until the coronavirus pandemic ends”.
They explained: “Police in the city of Hoeryong issued an emergency notice from the Ministry of Social Security, saying they would kill anyone within a kilometre of the North Korea-China border regardless of their reason for being there.
“After announcing the declaration, the police department told the public, ‘The coronavirus has spread everywhere except our country, so the enemy is trying to infiltrate the border by sending the virus across it’.
“They stressed the need to raise awareness among the border area residents and establish a system to report strangers and activities of the enemy.”
The ban applied to the entire 880-mile North Korean/Chinese border which extends across four provinces.
Whilst North Korea hasn’t officially declared any Covid-19 cases last month the city of Kaesong was put into lockdown for three weeks after a suspected case was detected.
Kim Jong-un declared a national emergency and banned travel between provinces.
More lockdown measures were imposed nationwide after a man claimed to have coronavirus symptoms but according to the World Health Organisation his results were inconclusive.
According to the source police near the border have been sent additional ammunition to help enforce the new policy.
The source added: “They are even saying that no one will be held responsible for shooting deaths that occur within a kilometre of the border area.”
A North Korean military source also confirmed the new policy to RFA.
They said: “At around 5:00 p.m. on the 25th, an urgent telegram from the Supreme Command came in telling the military to kill anyone within a kilometre of the border regardless of the reason.
“The emergency message goes into effect from midnight on the 26th,” the second source said.
“The emergency order stipulates that soldiers on border guard duty will leave behind their blank shots and carry only live ammunition.”
AFP