North Korea reports 'suspected' case of COVID-19 in defector

North Korea reported new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, according to state media. This is the first time that the country has acknowledged that the virus may have crossed into the country.

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North Korea's official news agency KCNA described the case as "a person who is suspected to have been infected with the vicious virus returned on July 19 after illegally crossing the demarcation line."

The country previously denied reporting even a single case of coronavirus. The virus caused a pandemic across the globe and the country's borders remain closed.

According to the KCNA, the suspected virus victim was "a runaway who went to the south three years ago," and was found in Kaesong City, on the border with South Korea.

The unnamed person "was put under strict quarantine as a primary step and all the persons ... who contacted that person and those who have been to the city in the last five days are being thoroughly investigated" and quarantined, KCNA said.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un called an emergency politburo meeting on Saturday to address the "dangerous situation ... that may lead to a deadly and destructive disaster." The meet was to adopt a "maximum emergency system and issue a top-class alert" to contain the epidemic, KCNA said.

Despite country's strict measures "the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country," Kim said, according to KCNA.

Kim said the government took the "preemptive measure of totally blocking Kaesong City" on July 24.

(Inputs from AFP)