North Korean City Sealed Off, Sparking Rumors About COVID-19 Cases

A city in North Korea have been reportedly sealed off and residents suspect that either the city has been hit by COVID-19 or North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is about to visit and make his second public appearance after he went missing for 20 days.

Blocked and guarded

Rason is a city near the East Sea in the North Pacific Ocean. A resident told US-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia that since early this month, the authorities have blocked the public from entering the city and it made things more difficult for them. Train passengers and residents who traveled by land were screened and blocked from entering the city.

A lot of the residents think that the closure of the city is connected to coronavirus, but the government has not divulged any reason for banning entry. Even when the coronavirus was at its peak in China, access to Rason was not sealed. No one knows why the entry is suddenly blocked.

North Korea claims that the country is free of the virus, but it has shut its border with China and has toughened quarantine rules. It was previously reported that Kim Jong-Un went to Pyongyang to stay at his luxurious beach retreat in Wonsan because of a coronavirus outbreak. Although some say he went there to recover after his surgery, there were those who speculated that he was infected with the virus and needed to isolate himself.

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Are the borders sealed because of coronavirus?

There were reports that Kim Jong Un's inner circle had contracted the coronavirus, and it prompted him to fly to the capital of North Korea and stay in his resort. However, the county insists that it has zero cases of the coronavirus, which if true, would make it one of the few countries left that is untouched by the pandemic.

Kim Jong Un sent a special message to President Xi Jinping last week, he praised Beijing's success in stemming the spread of the virus. He also sent the direct message in a dispatch to the Chinese leader praising China's efforts in battling the outbreak, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

Aside from the coronavirus speculation, there are those who believe that Kim Jong-Un will be visiting the city soon and the national guards are preparing the area for him. A source said that some residents say that they could be planning a Number One event in the city. The authorities have not explained in detail how long the city will be closed, causing further inconvenience.

The residents in Rason are still allowed to travel to and from the city, but only if they have the correct paperwork. The source said that on the train, the police and inspectors are frequently checking travel passes and tickets.

Rason is located close to the borders with Russia and China, around 60 miles from the port of Vladivostok. Massive numbers of residents regularly cross to do business in both countries. The city is located in North Hamgyong province, within the Rason Special Economic Zone, which was developed in 1992 to boost foreign investment.