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Kim Jong Un (centre), leader of North Korea, during a meeting of the ruling Labor Party's Central Committee
Photo: KCNA / dpa
North Korea has had its first officially announced cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began in 2020.
The state news agency KCNA said it was a "serious national emergency".
The tests on residents in the capital Pyongyang had shown that they had been infected with an omicron subvariant.
It is not known how many cases there have been and where those affected became infected.
According to KCNA, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said at an emergency Politburo meeting that the country would introduce a “maximum” quarantine protocol to contain the outbreak.
The aim is to “eliminate the roots within the shortest possible time”.
Kim called for stricter border controls and lockdown measures.
According to KCNA, the ruler urged citizens to "completely prevent the spread of the vicious virus by thoroughly sealing off their areas in all cities and counties across the country."
All economic activities would be organized in such a way that each production unit is "isolated" to prevent the spread of the disease.
So far, the isolated and authoritarian country of the World Health Organization (WHO) had not reported a single infection with the corona virus.
bbr/AFP/dpa
