North Korea has reported what it describes as the country's first suspected case of coronavirus
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State media said a person who defected to South Korea three years ago last week returned across the demarcation line with COVID-19 symptoms.
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Leader Kim Jong-un held an emergency meeting with top officials, imposing a lockdown in the border city of Kaesong.
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North Korea, a secretive state, had previously not reported any virus cases - but analysts said this was unlikely.
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"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 19 July after illegally crossing the demarcation line," news agency KCNA said.
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Meanwhile, North Koreans will reportedly be subjected to three months of hard labour for not wearing COVID-19 face masks under tough new rules.
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The new measures are part of a push to stop the spread of coronavirus in the secretive country.
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Students will be recruited to carry out 'face mask patrols' to ensure people are wearing the facial coverings, officials in the country told Radio Free Asia.
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Those who are found without a face mask will have to undergo three months of 'disciplinary labour'.
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