Seoul, Aug 25 (IANS): North Korea reported four new suspected Covid-19 cases in the northeastern province of Ryanggang, its state media said on Thursday, just two weeks after Pyongyang claimed victory over the pandemic.

The new cases suspected of being infected with "malignant epidemic" occurred in Ryanggang on August 23, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters.

Health authorities immediately locked down the area, urgently mobilized anti-epidemic teams to carry out tests for the suspected cases and have taken measures to find the cause of the fever outbreak, Yonhap News Agency quoted the KCNA report as saying.

On August 10, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory over Covid-19 and ordered the lifting of the country's "maximum emergency anti-epidemic" measures, three months after the nation reported the first confirmed case.