North Korea, which has claimed to have no COVID-19 cases, has admitted to its first confirmed case of the virus.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said on Thursday that the country's quarantine authorities confirmed the first case of the omicron variant among a group in Pyongyang on Sunday.

The KCNA said the nation had maintained thorough emergency quarantine measures for two years and three months since February 2020, but a most serious national crisis has emerged with the outbreak of the virus.

North Korea reportedly convened a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party on Thursday, attended by leader Kim Jong-un.

Kim ordered a comprehensive lockdown of cities and counties across the nation, ordering all-out efforts to prevent the spread of the virus at businesses and production facilities.

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