South Korea says a man who crossed into North Korea did not have coronavirus despite a claim by the latter that the man was displaying symptoms of the virus.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the 24-year-old man already had defected from North Korea to South Korea three years ago. He crossed back into his former country on July 19 and, after showing symptoms of the virus, prompted officials to lock down parts of the country in order to contain the suspected case.
North Korea has yet to report a confirmed case of COVID-19.
According to the Independent, however, South Korea does not believe the man had the virus before he re-entered North Korea.
The person was facing a sexual assault complaint and an arrest warrant was issued on him the day he swam from Ganghwa Island to Kaesong City, which are separated by an inlet of the Yellow Sea. The swim was roughly 12 miles.
The man is being held under quarantine in North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said there is "a critical situation in which the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country" and that he took "the preemptive measure of totally blocking Kaesong City and isolating each district and region from the other" on Friday afternoon.
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