Covid outbreak a great disaster, says Kim Jong-un
North Korea's rapidly spreading Covid-19 outbreak is a "great disaster" for the country, its leader Kim Jong-un has said, according to state media. Mr Kim called for an all-out battle to tackle the spread of the virus during an emergency meeting on Saturday. It comes after officials announced the first confirmed cases on Thursday - although experts believe the virus has likely been circulating for some time. There are fears a major outbreak could have dire consequences in North Korea. Its population of 25 million is vulnerable due to the lack of a vaccination programme and poor healthcare system. And on Saturday, state media reported that there had been half a million cases of unexplained fever in recent weeks. The country has limited testing capabilities so most Covid cases are not confirmed. That figure marked a major increase on the numbers given on both Friday and Thursday, potentially providing some indication of the scale of North Korea's outbreak. The spread of