North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been pictured for the first time in nearly a month as he orders a tightening of state emergency anti-coronavirus systems.
In his first public appearance in 25 days, Kim Jong-un stressed the need to keep a high alert and intensify the anti-epidemic work, KCNA reported.
It comes amid economic and political uncertainty caused by the global pandemic which has mounted further pressure on nuclear sanction-hit North Korea.
The hermit kingdom has so far recorded no case of coronavirus, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), despite its neighbours China and South Korea being severely affected and millions around the world dying of Covid-19.
North Korea has been on high alert since January, with strict border controls and movements restricted.
Kim spoke on Monday during a meeting of the ruling Workers Party about the need to maintain such caution.
He spoke after North Koreans were warned to stay indoors at the end of October amid claims a yellow dust blowing from China could bring the virus to the state.
The streets of its capital Pyongyang were reportedly largely empty after special weather bulletins claimed a mysterious yellow dust was spreading over from China carrying the virus.
The WHO claims "under some circumstances airborne transmission may occur", yet there is no evidence of a correlation between seasonal dust clouds and Covid-19.
North Korea had tested over 12,000 people and reported no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, as of early November,
according to the WHO.
A total of 6,173 people, eight of whom were foreigners, were detected as suspected cases and 174 people were quarantined in
the last week of October, the WHO said.
More than 54 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,312,334 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
