SEOUL, May 12. /TASS/. The North Korean leadership instructed to introduce a lockdown in all the towns and regions of the country over the first detected case of the coronavirus infection, according to a statement by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published on Thursday.

The corresponding order was made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a politburo session of the country’s ruling Workers' Party (WPK). There, he noted that it was necessary to "completely intercept the spread of the virus by means of thoroughly blocking <...> all the country’s cities and regions." Additionally, he ordered to "organize economic and industrial processes in such a way so that every enterprise and residential space was isolated."

According to the North Korean leader, the authorities need to eliminate the virus "in the shortest timeframe possible," organize swift treatment and prevent its spread. According to the KCNA, during the meeting, it was declared that it was necessary to switch the national healthcare system to the mode of "the utmost extreme quarantine." Additionally, the politburo criticized the "irresponsibility and incompetence of the quarantine sector" of the country since it could not react to and prevent the arrival of the virus in North Korea in a timely fashion.

In early 2020, due to the pandemic, the North Korean authorities took extraordinary measures to protect the country against the infection, including shutting down its borders. According to Yonhap, Pyongyang did not consent to accept the deliveries of vaccines against coronavirus which the country was entitled to under the COVAX international mechanism. Following this, the North Korean share of the vaccines under COVAX was redirected to other countries.