The Latest Breaking News from Kyodo

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Saturday the spread of COVID-19 had thrust his country into "great turmoil" and called for an all-out battle to overcome the outbreak, as 21 daily deaths were reported among people with fever.

North Korea is facing its first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak with no known vaccine programme, sparking new calls for the government to accept aid that could save lives, help protect its battered economy, and possibly lead to a diplomatic opening.

North Korea's admission that it is battling an "explosive" COVID-19 outbreak has raised concerns that the virus could devastate a country with an under-resourced health system, limited testing capabilities, and no vaccine program. The isolated North confirmed on Thursday its first COVID-19 infections since the pandemic emerged more than two…

North Korea's admission that it is battling an "explosive" COVID-19 outbreak has raised concerns that the virus could devastate a country with an under-resourced health system, limited testing capabilities, and no vaccine programme.

At least one person confirmed to have COVID-19 has died in North Korea and hundreds of thousands have shown fever symptoms, state media said on Friday, offering hints at the potentially dire scale of country's first confirmed outbreak of the pandemic.

North Korea's coronavirus outbreak threatens to deepen its already dire food situation this year, as a nationwide lockdown would hamper ongoing anti-drought efforts and the mobilisation of labour, analysts said.

North Korea reported its first COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday, calling it the "gravest national emergency" and ordering a national lockdown, with state media saying an Omicron variant had been detected in the capital, Pyongyang.

Arrangements are being made for a visit to Japan in May by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, Kyodo news agency said on Friday, citing multiple diplomatic sources.

Japan located on Friday the hull of a tour boat off its northern coast, media said, six days after the vessel disappeared in an accident that killed at least 14 people on a sightseeing trip.

A Japanese woman believed to have been the world's oldest person has died aged 119, public broadcaster NHK said on Monday, reporting the death of Kane Tanaka.

Inquiries began into what caused the disappearance of a Japanese tour boat off the nation's northern coast as search efforts intensified on Monday to find the boat and its missing passengers, with the confirmed death toll rising to 11.