North Korea: 'First' Covid cases prompt strict national lockdown
Instead, it controlled Covid by sealing its borders - and had never recorded a case, despite experts believing the virus has long been present.
Outsiders say the nation's 25 million population is vulnerable due to the lack of a Covid-19 vaccine programme, even rejecting offers from the international community to supply millions of AstraZeneca and Chinese-made Sinovac jabs last year.
KCNA said leader Kim Jong-un had vowed to eradicate the outbreak, which it called a "severe national emergency" that had breached the country's "quarantine front".
At the meeting outlining the new Covid rules, Mr Kim was seen wearing a face mask on television for what is believed to be the first time. He soon removed it, while other officials present kept theirs on.
North Korea's strategy of sealing its foreign borders - one of the first countries to do so, in January 2020 - has also stopped essential supplies from entering the country, leading to food shortages and a faltering economy.
