North Korea orders police to shoot anyone approaching border

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• North Korea has ordered soldiers and police to ‘shoot on sight’ anyone who will come within half a mile of the nation’s border with China.
• The directive comes in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country.
• North Korea claims to be the only country in the world with zero coronavirus cases, but the report is widely doubted.

North Korea has ordered soldiers and police to shoot anyone who approaches the Chinese border in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, according to a report.

The order will be in effect until the pandemic ends to prevent the virus from entering the area notorious for smuggling goods into the country, Radio Free Asia reported.

“Police in the city of Hoeryong issued an emergency notice from the Ministry of Social Security, saying they would kill anyone within a kilometer (0.6 miles) of the North Korea-China border regardless of their reason for being there,” one resident, who declined to be identified for safety reasons, told the outlet.

North Korea sent extra ammunition to police patrolling the border so they can go on with the new policy.

“They are even saying that no one will be held responsible for shooting deaths that occur within a kilometer of the border area,” the resident told the outlet.

It’s not yet determined whether the order also applies to regions bordering its rival neighbor, South Korea.

North Korea has been claiming to have zero coronavirus cases, meaning it is the only COVID-19-free country in the world. The claim has been widely doubted globally.

In July, Kim Jong Un said the virus “could be said to have entered” the country and issued a lockdown after a man was reported to have symptoms.

State media released photos last week of the despot — who has been rumored to be in a coma for months — holding a meeting to call for prevention efforts against the coronavirus and a typhoon.

Source: New York Post