North Korea has not confirmed any cases of the virus, but state media said a month-long quarantine period had been imposed for people showing symptoms and "high-intensity" measures were taken including reinforcing checks in border regions and at airports and sea ports.

In a separate dispatch, KCNA said Kim has also convened a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's powerful politburo where a stricter enforcement of "top-class anti-epidemic steps" was discussed to prevent the spread of the virus.

"In case the infectious disease spreading beyond control finds its way into our country, it will entail serious consequences," Kim was quoted as telling the meeting. "No special cases must be allowed within the state anti-epidemic system."

He instructed the officials to "seal off all the channels and space through which the infectious disease may find its way, and strengthen check-up, test and quarantine," KCNA added.

A plan is under way to evacuate some 60 foreign diplomats from North Korea, including from Germany, French and Switzerland, CNN reported on Friday, citing an unnamed source inside the country. The report also said other countries with diplomatic missions were seeking to scale down their operations.

Meanwhile South Korea has reported 594 new cases of coronavirus, a big rise bringing the total to 2,931, the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

Of the 594 new cases, 476 occurred in Daegu, 300 kilometres south-east of Seoul, and 60 were reported in neighbouring North Gyeongsang province, news agency Yonhap reported.

Many of the country's cases have been linked to the Shincheonji church in Daegu. Experts expect the number of confirmed cases to rise further, as authorities test some 210,000 members of the church, Yonhap said.

Sixteen people have died in South Korea from Covid-19.

Australian Associated Press