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The inter-Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong. (provided by the Unification Ministry)

The South and North Korean authorities have tentatively agreed to suspend the operations of their joint liaison office in the North Korean city of Kaesong until the threat posed by the novel coronavirus — which is spreading around the world — has been resolved. This step, which was taken at North Korea’s request, is thought to be part of the North’s efforts to control its borders. Pyongyang had previously announced the establishment of a “national emergency disease control system” designed to block the influx of the coronavirus.

The 58 South Koreans who had been working at the liaison office (17 public servants and 41 civilian support staff) all crossed the border into South Korea on Thursday afternoon after taking safety precautions, including sealing up the facility and the equipment inside.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Unification (MOU) announced, "We have mutually decided to temporarily halt operations at the Inter-Korean Liaison Office until the threat of novel coronavirus infection is completely eliminated."

"We agreed to keep up our work with other phone and fax lines between Seoul and Pyongyang," said MOU Spokesperson Lee Sang-min. In other words, the two countries will use direct lines to continue doing liaison office work.

In a front-page article on Jan. 30, North Korea’ state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported, "Following emergency measures by the government and the Party, the ad hoc Central People's Health Education Committee declared that the disease control system will be changed to a national emergency disease control system until the threat of novel coronavirus infection is gone."

Declaring that the novel coronavirus quarantine measures are "a grave political issue that concerns the life or death of the country" in its Jan. 29 issue, the Rodong Sinmun added that "[the infection] should not be allowed to enter our country under any circumstances."

Since right before the Lunar New Year holiday, North Korea has been implementing strict border control measures such as banning all tourist entry. During the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2003, North Korea similarly shut down tourism at Mt. Kumkang for 62 days.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]