A Chinese internet news site reports that Pyongyang has decided to shut down a casino in the North Korea-China border region following a gambling scandal involving a Chinese government official.

The website, Sina.com, quoted a recent telegram sent to Chinese authorities in Yenben, China by officials of the Emperor Hotel in Rason, North Korea, notifying them of the decision.

The move follows the arrest of a Chinese public official earlier this month who had turned fugitive after gambling away state funds at the casino.

Beijing has been pushing the North to close down casinos operating in the border area as a part of its ongoing anti-gambling campaign. The casinos are notorious in China as gambling dens for public servants who recklessly squander government money there.

The Emperor Hotel and Casino has reportedly said that it plans to transform the casino site into an entertainment facility.