North Korea's official newspaper called Tuesday for absolute obedience of anti-coronavirus guidelines, urging people not to let their guard down as the country is bracing for a long fight against the global pandemic.

North Korea claims to have no confirmed COVID-19 infection, but the country has taken drastic preventive measures at an early stage, such as closing its border with China and toughening quarantine criteria.

"What we have to stay away from is to be complacent about the achievements that we have made and letting our guard down," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party, said. "That can never be tolerated in carrying out preventive efforts aimed at safeguarding the safety of our people."

The paper said that some citizens are loosening up their alert against the global pandemic and not following state-enforced guidelines to block an outbreak, calling for the establishment of strict rule and order in which state guidelines should be followed under any circumstances.

North Korea has repeatedly called for absolute obedience of state-enforced preventive guidelines, such as wearing face masks, washing hands, avoiding crowds and other activities that could spread the virus.

On Saturday, North Korea held a political bureau meeting of the ruling party presided over by leader Kim Jong-un, saying it has become impossible to remove the danger of the coronavirus "in a short time" and calling for "strict national countermeasures to thoroughly check the infiltration of the virus." (Yonhap)