N. Korea deploys 500 personnel to border with China to support preventive efforts

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has dispatched around 500 workers to the country's border with China in the latest move to prevent an outbreak of the highly contagious new coronavirus on its soil, a Red Cross report showed on Tuesday.

According to the report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), North Korea's Red Cross recently dispatched the personnel for border quarantine operations at the request of the government.

The report did not provide details on when or exactly where the personnel were sent.

Pyongyang has been intensifying efforts to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus that originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and has been sweeping across the world.

North Korea has not yet reported any confirmed case of coronavirus infection, but it has beefed up border controls, quarantine efforts against entrants from China and checks of water quality across the country, which is known for its weak medical infrastructure.

North Korea recently launched a national emergency system against the virus, calling preventive efforts a "political matter" that could determine the fate of the country.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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