North Korea has confirmed for the first time that it has found at least nine cases of the H1N1 flu virus. A report from the official Korean Central News Agency said the cases were found in Pyongyang and in Sinuiju, near the Chinese border. Officials from the health ministry said the country is strengthening quarantine, prevention and treatment measures. South Korea has treated the issue as a matter above politics, saying it is ready to send unconditional aid to help fight the outbreak. Spokesman for the Unification Ministry in Seoul, Chun Hae-sung, said the South is drawing up a specific plan to assist North Korea on swine flu as soon as possible, on a humanitarian basis with no conditions.