As Coronavirus fears mount, playing tough may be North Korea's least bad option



Border Controls As Coronavirus fears mount, playing tough may be North Korea’s least bad option Despite the likely impact on the economy, the DPRK has little choice but to close its borders and hope for the best Oliver Hotham February 12, 2020 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Rodong Sinmun In late January, as global fears around a “mystery virus” with origins in a central Chinese city began to mount, North Korea cut off one of the few non-sanctioned sources of cash still available to it and announced a full ban on foreign tourists entering the country. That was just the beginning. In the days and weeks that have followed, Pyongyang has cut off all inbound and outbound flights and trains, imposed a quarantine on all visitors coming from abroad, and placed foreign diplomats under virtual house arrest, in a desperate bid to prevent an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in its territory. In late January, as global fears around a “mystery virus” with origins in a central Chinese city began to mount, North Korea cut off one of the few non-sanctioned sources of cash still available to it and announced a full ban on foreign tourists entering the country. That was just the beginning. In the days and weeks that have followed, Pyongyang has cut off all inbound and outbound flights and trains, imposed a quarantine on all visitors coming from abroad, and placed foreign diplomats under virtual house arrest, in a desperate bid to prevent an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in its territory. Try unlimited access Only $1 for four weeks Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis Year-one discount if you continue past $1 trial period The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Border Controls

As Coronavirus fears mount, playing tough may be North Korea’s least bad option

Despite the likely impact on the economy, the DPRK has little choice but to close its borders and hope for the best

Oliver Hotham February 12, 2020

As Coronavirus fears mount, playing tough may be North Korea’s least bad option

Rodong Sinmun

In late January, as global fears around a “mystery virus” with origins in a central Chinese city began to mount, North Korea cut off one of the few non-sanctioned sources of cash still available to it and announced a full ban on foreign tourists entering the country.

That was just the beginning. In the days and weeks that have followed, Pyongyang has cut off all inbound and outbound flights and trains, imposed a quarantine on all visitors coming from abroad, and placed foreign diplomats under virtual house arrest, in a desperate bid to prevent an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in its territory.

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As Coronavirus fears mount, playing tough may be North Korea’s least bad option

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