<span style="color: #222222;">North Korea has ordered a strict national lockdown after confirming its first official Covid infections. State media have reported an Omicron outbreak in the capital Pyongyang.<br />''<br />''North Korean news agency, KCNA said, leader Kim Jong-un had vowed to eradicate the outbreak, which they called a severe national emergency that had breached the country's quarantine front.<br />''<br />''The North Korean news outlet added that the first case of the Omicron variant had been reportedly detected in the capital four days ago.<br />''<br />''Residents in some areas of Pyongyang had been subjected to lockdown for at least two days prior to the latest announcement.<br />''<br />''The first public admission of COVID infections highlights the potential for a major crisis in a country that has refused international help with vaccinations and kept its borders shut.<br />''<br />''Meanwhile, South Korea's government said, it has renewed its offer of humanitarian assistance to the North in response to the news of the outbreak. Pyongyang has yet to respond.</span><br />