The city of Samjiyon, in Yanggang Province, has again been put under lockdown over COVID-19 fears, Daily NK has learned.
The central government ordered the lockdown on Mar. 3, according to a source in the province Daily NK spoke with yesterday.
The source said that the lockdown order was due to an “illegal border crossing” and is aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The lockdown order has closed all organizations in the city, except for law enforcement-related agencies, and prohibited all gatherings and movements of people in the city. The order also included a directive for people “not to leave their houses.”
The lockdown order further shutdown local markets “for the time being” and has prohibited the entry of all vehicles transporting food from outside of the city. There have subsequently been concerns that commodity prices may spike as a result of this measure.
The authorities have not presented a specific period in which the lockdown order is to remain in effect.
There is the possibility that the authorities will soon downgrade the lockdown order as they have recently done in Hyesan.
North Korean authorities handed down lockdown orders in Aug. 2020 and in January of this year due to “illegal border crossing” incidents.
