North Korea's health minister said on Tuesday that the country has no confirmed or suspected cases of the novel coronavirus.

Public Health Minister Oh Chun-bok made the remarks during an interview with the North's Korean Central Television, making the first such statement by the country's top health official. 

The minister said the fact that not a single confirmed or suspected case of the new virus has been found in the country could cause people to be caught off-guard.

She stressed the nation should remain vigilant and keep up preventive quarantine efforts to block the contagious virus. 

Earlier in the day, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling party, carried an article in which a public health official emphasized that there has been no single confirmed case of the virus.