FILE PHOTO: Portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are seen on the facade of a government building in Pyongyang, North Korea, September 11, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo

SEOUL: North Korea called for more strict and thorough countermeasures to ensure the safety of its citizens from the fast spreading coronavirus pandemic at a political bureau meeting of the ruling party's central committee, which was presided over by its leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported on Sunday (Apr 12).