North Korea hails progress in fight against drought despite COVID wave

FILE PHOTO: Volunteers carry out temperature screening during an anti-virus campaign in Pyongyang, North Korea in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 4, 2020. KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has made progress in its fight against drought, and rice planting is under way nationwide even as the country ramps up efforts to tame its unprecedented coronavirus wave, state media said on Wednesday.

The reclusive country has been waging a battle against its first-ever COVID-19 outbreak since declaring a state of emergency and imposing a nationwide lockdown last month.