South Korean military said, cannot confirm if defector who returned to North has coronavirus

Seoul, South Korea: South Korean military and health authorities on Monday, July 27 said that they believe a North Korean defector crossed the border back into the North, but added there is no sign he was infected with the coronavirus.

North Korean state media said on Sunday, July 26 that a suspected COVID-19 patient "illegally crossed" the demarcation line on July 19, and that leader Kim Jong Un called for an investigation into the military units at the border. The man is believed to have crossed from Gwanghwa, a South Korean island about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from Kaesong, the border city in North Korea where he was caught, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that he appeared to pass through a drain pipe under barbed wire fences. Officials also recovered a bag believed to belong to him.

South Korean health authorities also said they had found no sign that the man identified as the possible defector had tested positive for the virus, or been in contact with anyone who had. Two people who had been in contact with the man tested negative for the virus on Sunday, July 26.

South Korean officials have not named the person, but identified a 24-year-old man who they say fits the description and probably returned to the North recently, Yonhap news agency reported.