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 North Korea, the world's most isolated country, is thousands of
miles from the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and
has reported no cases of the virus, which has killed more than 9,000
people.
Nonetheless, its borders have remained closed to foreign tourists
since last October, for fear the virus might spread, and it imposes
a strict 21-day quarantine for foreign aid workers and diplomats,
who have been told to stay in embassy compounds.
"Among a very few members of the diplomatic corps in the DPRK, some
people in quarantine continue to host or participate in a banquet, a
party or a meeting," read the note, a copy of which was seen by
Reuters.
DPRK is the abbreviation of North Korea's official title, the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The note, dated Feb. 2, went
to embassies and international organizations in Pyongyang,
diplomatic sources confirmed to Reuters.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama said he would bring back
by April 30 nearly all of the U.S. troops deployed in West Africa to
fight the Ebola epidemic, after evidence showed a drop in new cases.
But in North Korea, even high-ranking Party cadres have been
quarantined. Its titular head of state, Kim Jong Nam, was
quarantined upon his return from a trip to Africa last November, a
South Korean government official said last month.
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The policy "will not change in the least until the danger of Ebola
virus infection disappears", the note stated.
People working in North Korea's tourism industry told Reuters they
had not yet been told when the tourism ban would be lifted, but
expected to be able to resume tours in time for the Pyongyang
marathon this April.
(Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Tony Munroe and Clarence
Fernandez)
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