North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently ordered his Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to “screen all foreign embassies in Pyongyang” to identify and “temporarily deport” any diplomats displaying suspicious symptoms related to the Wuhan coronavirus, Daily NK has learned.<\/p>\n
\u201cStarting today, MFA employees and medical workers went to the embassies of each country in Pyongyang and started medical examinations,\u201d a source in North Korea told Daily NK on Feb. 4.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is virtually unprecedented for a country to \u201ctemporarily deport\u201d foreign embassy staff for the purposes of stopping the spread of an infectious disease. Kim has reportedly even threatened MFA staff unable to implement his orders properly will face punishment.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the source, MFA officials acted as soon as they received the order from Kim last week. They immediately began contacting foreign embassies in Pyongyang to clarify whether they would be open to carrying out tests on their diplomats for the virus. After receiving confirmation that the embassies would cooperate, the North Korean authorities told each embassy that \u201chealth inspections will be carried out in early February.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n BREAKING INTERNATIONAL LAW?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to international law, foreign embassies and diplomatic residences are treated as the sovereign territory of the relevant country, and outsiders cannot enter without getting permission. <\/span><\/p>\n North Korea\u2019s MFA has justified requests for entry by its health workers on the grounds of protecting its own people from the spread of the coronavirus. However, rumors are circulating in North Korea that the MFA has unilaterally decided on the date and methods of the examinations before announcing them to each embassy.<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, Daily NK sources reported that Kim told the MFA that \u201cEmbassies and diplomatic residences should be examined irrespective of location.\u201d This has meant that inspections are to be carried out not only in Pyongyang’s Taedonggang District Diplomatic Compound, where most foreign embassies are located, but also in Moranbong District, where the Chinese embassy compound is located, and Pyongyang\u2019s Central District, where the Russian embassy is situated.<\/span><\/p>\n Kim’s orders have stipulated that each and every embassy and diplomatic residence employee, as well as all family members, must undergo health examinations, Daily NK sources reported.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After Kim handed down his order, the MFA organized a task force made up of approximately 40 members. This reportedly included members of the Central Hospital and Central Epidemic Prevention Center who are tasked with determining whether their patients are infected.<\/span><\/p>\n