KATHMANDU: A North Korean citizen suspected with coronavirus infection has been murdered.

Korean government murdered its official upon his return from China under the suspicion of being infected with the new virus, Daily Mail quoted The Dong-a Ilbo as reporting.

The officer had returned to North Korea from China been quarantined for the suspicion of the virus.

According to the report, he was shot dead after he went to take a bath in a public place, fearing that the virus would spread.

The coronavirus which first broke out in Wuhan City of the China province of Hubei has claimed 1,486 people (including one each in Hong Kong,  the Philippines and Japan) and infected 65,119  so far.

The virus has spread to 25 countries already. The World Health Organization (WHO) has termed it COVID-19 and declared it as a global epidemic.

Over 500 people have been infected outside China.