The Russian government has conveyed to North Korea that it’s prepared to provide COVID-19 vaccines if deemed necessary. 

Russian news agency TASS cited its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying on Wednesday that Moscow conveyed its offer on several occasions to senior North Korean officials via its embassy in Pyongyang.

Lavrov said the aid would include vaccines and medical equipment, adding that his country regularly provides other forms of humanitarian assistance to the North. 

The minister was quick to add, however, that Moscow has not seen any cases suggesting that clusters of COVID-19 infections have emerged in North Korea. 

The isolationist North sealed off its borders at the start of 2020 when the pandemic began to spread across the globe, and has yet to officially report a single case of the coronavirus.