Published by
Reuters UK
Reuters UK
By Joori Roh and Soo-hyang Choi SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea confirmed its first COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday, calling it the “gravest national emergency” and ordering a national lockdown, with state media reporting an Omicron variant had been detected in Pyongyang. The first public admission of COVID infections highlights the potential for a major crisis in a country that has refused international help with vaccinations and kept its borders shut. As of March, no cases of COVID-19 have been reported, according to the World Health Organization, and there is no official record of any North Kore…