North Korean military medics ramped up the distribution of medicines to fight a growing coronavirus outbreak, state media said, with the number of reported cases of "fever" nearing 1.5 million.
Leader Kim Jong-un has ordered nationwide lockdowns to try to slow the spread of the disease through the unvaccinated population.
He has deployed the military after what he has called a botched response to the outbreak. Hundreds of personnel in camouflage uniforms from the Korean People's Army medical units were seen rallying in the capital Pyongyang in photos released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The military "urgently deployed its powerful forces to all pharmacies in Pyongyang City and began to supply medicines under the 24-hour service system", KCNA said.