https://www.dailynk.com/english/source-north-korean-authorities-order-lock-down-nampo-port-detection-covid-19/

North Korean authorities have ordered a lock down of Nampo Port after coronavirus-infected goods were detected among imports that arrived in mid-July, Daily NK has learned.

“The novel coronavirus [COVID-19] was detected among some imported goods that had arrived through Nampo Port’s freight customs office on around July 15,” a Daily NK source in Nampo said on Wednesday. “The government has taken a series of measures to deal with the situation.”

Most of the goods imported through the Nampo Port customs office are food and “manufactured items” imported legally and illegally into the country. According to the source, COVID-19 was detected in items that had been illegally imported into the country.

The authorities have also ordered the creation of a “Lock Down Command” in the Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Command to manage lock downs near bridges on the border, at ports, and at train stations, along with a directive to further increase disease control measures at the country’s borders and coastal regions.

The authorities warned that anyone who openly opposes the “party’s policies” by failing to follow the orders of the Lock Down Command will face “heavy legal punishment.”

North Korean authorities also handed down an order for all participants in party and government meetings to wear masks, and that a “strong ideological campaign” should be conducted against those who “chronically” fail to strictly follow disease control regulations, noting that such persons do not have even the slightest right to be a “socialist citizen.”