South Korea, North Korea to temporarily close Liaison Office over Coronavirus: Reports

South Korea and North Korea decided to temporarily close the joint liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong over the outbreak of new coronavirus, South Korean media reported on Thursday.

Seoul and Pyongyang will create new telephone and fax lines to maintain communication amid the office's closure, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing an official of the South Korean Unification Ministry.

The official noted that all 58 South Korean employees of the liaison office, including 17 government officials, would return home as soon as possible.

The novel strain of coronavirus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December and has since spread within China and to at least 15 other countries, including South Korea that has already registered four confirmed cases. North Korea has not reported any confirmed new coronavirus cases.

The epidemic has already left 170 people dead in China as well as 7,711 more infected.