The source said the reason North Korea sealed its borders on Jan. 22 was that a number of people there had already died of coronavirus.

Eight people are rumored to have died of coronavirus in North Korea, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.

Officially North Korea has reported neither deaths nor any confirmed case of the virus.

But according to the source, the people who died last month were family members of North Korean diplomats in China and workers in Pyongyang.

Another diplomatic source said, "Even if someone dies from unknown pneumonia symptoms, nobody is allowed to link it to coronavirus. State security agents take you away if you even mention the word."