The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) recorded 21 new COVID-19 deaths and 29,581 cases on Friday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Saturday.

The authorities also reported 174,400 new cases with fever symptoms on Friday. 

KCNA also said top leader Kim Jong Un presided over an early-morning politburo meeting to review the DPRK's "maximum emergency" antivirus system.

Kim said his country is faced with "great turmoil" due to the spread of COVID-19, the Republic of Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.