N. KOREA REPORTS ON PANDEMIC

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea's ruling party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, said Tuesday the global health crisis was worsening and that a more contagious variant of COVID-19 was spreading in many countries. The paper then called for heightened alert in quarantine efforts and stressed the North cannot lower its guard for any moment. The regime claims not a single infection has yet been reported in the country.