North Korea acknowledged for the first time a COVID-19 infection within the hermit nation's borders.

State media reported Thursday that a case of the omicron variant was detected after authorities tested samples from patients in the capital of Pyongyang, leading the country to implement a "maximum emergency" system to fight the virus, according to South Korea'sYonhap news agency.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a meeting that his country will overcome the "unexpected crisis" and ordered lockdowns, per the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

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North Korea, which reportedly has no vaccines to fight the virus, has denied having any confirmed cases of COVID-19 up until this point, a notion that has been met with skepticism from the international community.

The city of Kaesong was locked down when North Korea reported that someone with a suspected case of COVID-19 returned from South Korea in July 2020.

North Korea has a population of roughly 25 million people