Photo/Illutration Junior high school students in Pyongyang take a class as the new school year, delayed as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic, started. This photo was distributed by the Korean Central News Agency on June 7. (Korea News Service)

North Korea, which asserts it has not had a single case of COVID-19 infection, announced it is developing a vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

The July 18 announcement was made on the website of North Korea’s State Commission of Science and Technology.

There is much speculation as to whether North Korea has the skills to develop a vaccine as so little is known about the country's level of medical care.

Some analysts in South Korea say the announcement may have been intended purely to rally the people's spirits as domestic propaganda.

According to the announcement, a medical biology institute under the Academy of Medical Science is developing the vaccine.

“The vaccine utilizes an enzyme being used when the coronavirus enters the cells of a (human) host,” the post read.

The commission also provided some details of the vaccine, saying it is being developed based on the genome sequence of a protein on a spiky portion of the virus.

North Korea strengthened its measures to prevent the virus from entering the country by closing its borders with China at the beginning of this year, after the novel coronavirus outbreak flared in the central city of Wuhan.

North Korea's state media maintains that no one has tested positive for the virus in the reclusive country.

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