China pledges "all-out" help to DPRK in COVID-19 battle

China is ready to go all-out to provide support and assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in fighting COVID-19, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Early in the day, the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency reported that the country had confirmed its first-ever COVID-19 case in over two years.

The state media said samples were collected from a group of patients in the capital Pyongyang on Sunday and a subvariant of the highly transmissible Omicron version of the coronavirus, known as BA.2, was detected.

"China and the DPRK are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers. The two sides enjoy the fine tradition of mutual assistance," said spokesman Zhao Lijian.

"Since the onset of COVID-19, the DPRK side has been firmly supporting China in the fight against the coronavirus. China very much appreciates that."