North Korea suddenly blockaded the capital Pyongyang because of ‘national problems’

According to a source of North Korea news website NK News, people in the capital Pyongyang were suddenly ordered to stay at home on the afternoon of May 10. NK News cited one source as describing the reason as “a nationwide lockdown”, while another referred to a “national issue” without specifying what it was.

After the decree, many people rushed home, along with long lines of people waiting for buses in Pyongyang.

NK News added that North Korean authorities appear to have instructed people not to leave their residences and did not specify when the decree will be lifted.

It seems that the decree has been issued nationwide, although people can still be seen working in the fields along the inter-Korean border in the area near Paju at about 5:00 pm Korean time (15:00 GMT). Male).

The move comes a few weeks after North Korea and China suspended land border trade after the pandemic COVID-19 outbreak in Liaoning and Jilin provinces bordering North Korea.

Up to this point, after more than 2 years of the pandemic appearing in the world, North Korea has not officially confirmed that it has recorded any COVID-19 cases.

Foreign diplomatic officials working in Pyongyang told NK News that short-term directives asking people to stay at home were not unusual, even before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

Last week, Pyongyang authorities also ordered residents to stay indoors. Sources in Pyongyang said that blockade was related to the severity of the condition of airborne dust particles, commonly known as “gold dust”.