A senior U.S. official has reiterated the country's intent to provide support to North Korea, saying its COVID-19 outbreak appears to be serious.

The official conveyed the stance in a press briefing as U.S. President Joe Biden is set to hold summit talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Saturday afternoon.

The official said Washington is ready to take measures to assist North Korea, including on COVID-19.

The North's state media outlet the Korean Central News Agency reported around 220-thousand new fever cases on Saturday, raising the accumulated total to some two-point-46 million.

Of this total, one-point-seven million have recovered and over 692-thousand people are receiving treatment. The related death toll stands at 66.

Daily fever cases confirmed by the North increased sharply between May 12 and 15, after which the tally has remained in the 200-thousands for five days.

As the death toll is relatively low compared to the number of people showing fever symptoms, commentators believe the actual conditions could be vastly different from what is being reported.