North Korea rejects offer of almost three million Covid-19 jabs

North Korea has asked that almost three million Covid-19 jabs offered to it be redirected elsewhere, the UN says.

A spokesperson said the country had asked that the shots be relocated to harder hit nations in view of global vaccine shortages.

Chinese-made Sinovac shots were offered under the Covax programme which aims to help poorer nations obtain vaccines.

As of 19 August, North Korea had recorded no cases of Covid-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

Some 37,291 people - including health care workers and those with flu-like illnesses - had been tested and all were found to be negative, the WHO said in its weekly situation report.

The secretive nation imposed strict anti-virus measures from the beginning of the pandemic. It was one of the first countries to close its borders in January last year.