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Kim declared a state of emergency in the Kaesong area and discussed lockdown measures that were put in place late Friday, shortly after the suspected case was reported.

A coronavirus outbreak would pose a significant threat to North Korea’s limited health system, which lacks basic protective equipment and medical supplies. The isolated country, mindful of the threat, further sealed itself off from the outside world as the novel coronavirus spread to areas near its border with China.

As early as January, North Korea shut down cross-border travel with China and Russia, although doing so severely limits its business with those countries. It has restricted domestic travel and placed diplomats and foreigners under effective house arrest.

More than 1,100 people in the country have been tested for the coronavirus as of July 9, the World Health Organization’s representative to Pyongyang was quoted as saying in NK News, an outlet based in Seoul that focuses on North Korea. The representative said all tests came back negative. About 600 North Koreans were under quarantine.

North Korea’s senior disease-control officials attended the Political Bureau meeting Mr. Kim called on Saturday, while other senior government and party officials from across the country watched it through video conferencing, state media reported. Mr. Kim ordered them to fight the spread of the virus “​with a sense of boundless responsibility, loyalty and devotion.”

​North Korea did not reveal the identity of the North Korean runaway who it said returned home with the possible virus infection from South Korea. The South Korean government did not immediately react to the North Korean claim.