Contrary to its October 24th Ebola prevention edict mandating 21-day quarantines for all foreigners entering the country, North Korea has been opening its doors to wealthy Chinese traders to secure more investment, the Daily NK has learned.

��Recently I��ve heard North Korea say it won��t isolate traders who have a lot of money,�� a source in China told the Daily NK on Wednesday. ��If people receive health certificates from China and agree to be tested for Ebola in the North, it claims they are exempt from the isolation process.��

Shortly after Pyongyang��s unilateral announcement of plans to implement the quarantine and testing on all foreigners entering the country, Chinese traders who profit on urgent business transactions said, ��Who would want to be cooped up for so long?��  

Facing these conditions, and desperate to encourage investment, Pyongyang has slowly been relaxing the measures it put in place to prevent the Ebola virus from entering the country, according to the source.

��Some people, who didn��t like the idea of being quarantined and tested before, have shown interest now,�� the source went on, quick to note that many still harbor concerns about the North going back on its word.

These concerns stem from merchants caught in the country during the quarantine declaration and forced to pay their hotel lodging and testing costs. Some suspect the latest move may be another scam tactic to procure hard currency.

Despite the limited opening of its borders, Ebola prevention is still a high priority for the North. ��The head of a Chinese trade company recently came back from North Korea, and said he was told to come without an assistant and driver,�� he said. ��Once he got there, the North provided him with a car and driver after testing him again, giving him the impression that efforts are still very much in place to prevent Ebola from getting in and spreading.��

The source pointed out that Pyongyang seems to simply be banning companies with less capital, and therefore deemed less economically valuable to the state.

��If they��re not big companies, most people have seemingly just accepted they won��t be going to the North for the time being,�� the source explained, adding that human exchanges in areas like fisheries and clothing, operated by small and medium-sized companies on the border, have mostly come to a halt.

��There��s not even news of state enterprise heads coming from North Korea to China,�� he pointed out. ��With this ongoing, people��s perceptions about trade with the North are deteriorating by the day.��