Some South Korean media outlets have reported multiple cases and possible deaths from the virus in North Korea, but there has been no independent verification. But a former North Korean diplomat who defected to South Korea in 2016 said the ability of the WHO to evaluate the situation in North Korea was likely limited by North Korean restrictions. "Recent measures taken by the North Korea regime are abnormal," the former diplomat, Thae Yong-ho, told reporters in Seoul on Wednesday. Aid organisations have called for exemptions from sanctions that restrict most trade and business with North Korea. WHO officials were scheduled to meet a North Korean delegation in Geneva to discuss prevention, he said.

Source: bd News24 February 19, 2020 06:33 UTC