Kim Jong Un's North Korea has given orders to the soldiers and the police to 'shoot on sight' anyone who is seen within half a mile of the nation's border with China in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus or COVID-19, as per reports.
The sources at Pyongyang got to know about the draconian measure less than a day before it was brought into effect on Thursday. The police of the city of Hoeryong stated that they are going to kill anyone within such a distance of the boundary regardless of the reason for going there, as reported by the RFA.
The policy got enforced along the whole 880-mile border until the end of the novel virus pandemic for trying to prevent the spread of the virus by contact with people from China. The government is providing ammunition to the cops so that they can carry out the new policy, as per the latest reports. According to sources, no one will be held responsible for the deaths due to shooting taking place within the mentioned distance.
North Korea Gives 'Shoot on Sight' Orders
The frontier has not been compact despite the nations closing borders and even suspending the trade, as the economy of North Korea depends on the goods getting smuggled in and out of China. In recent times, a refugee who previously escaped, returned back to the nation undetected, which has angered the Supreme Leader.
"The emergency order stipulates that soldiers on border guard duty will leave behind their blank shots and carry only live ammunition. The authorities have sent the notorious special forces to the border area [to watch the border guard units] and now they are ordering the units to fire upon their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers with live ammunition," a source told RFA.
The country has been claiming it to be virus-free for quite some time amid doubts from around the world. However, senior health officials were fired as they failed to contain the virus after news came that it was reading in three parts of the nation, as per reports. The city of Kaesong was also put under lockdown in July to curb the spread of the virus.
In recent times, Kim Jong Un also has not been seen a lot publicly amid reports that he is not well. There were also reports that the Supreme Leader is slowly transferring all his powers to his sister as he is not well due to stress.
