[Newsmaker] N. Korea making all-out efforts against coronavirus before key party convention

North Korea has been striving to stave off a COVID-19 outbreak on its soil ahead of a major national event, according to its state-controlled media Sunday.

It plans to convene the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea next month, in which the Kim Jong-un regime is expected to unveil the direction of its major policies at home and abroad. No exact date has been announced yet.

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the powerful ruling party, called for more thorough coronavirus virus prevention measures, citing the plan to hold the first party congress in five years. The previous session was attended by Kim and thousands of party delegates.

"Absolutely obeying emergency anti-virus measures" is "crucial" to protect the nation and the people, the newspaper stressed.

It called for the strengthening of the line of defense against the virus and the "guarding of the 8th convention," even for people to risk death to guarantee its success.

The North has toughened relevant measures at antivirus checkpoints in border regions, including temperature checks and hand disinfection, it added.

In October, the North said virus prevention is the "main goal of the 80-day campaign" to achieve the country's national and economic goals by the end of the year in the runup to the party convention.

The Rodong Sinmun's latest report suggests the North is on track, for now, to open the party convention in January as scheduled amid speculation it may be postponed due to virus concerns.

Formally, the secretive country has not reported any COVID-19 case yet. (Yonhap)