South Korea reiterates proposal to jointly tackle COVID-19 with North Korea

South Korea's president says his proposal to North Korea on jointly tackling infectious diseases such as the COVID-19 illness remains valid, though the North hasn't responded.

President Moon Jae-in told reporters Sunday that he believes the North is suffering various difficulties over the coronavirus pandemic.

Moon didn't elaborate. His spy agency recently told lawmakers the virus pandemic resulted in sharply shrinking the North's external trade and causing panic buying in Pyongyang, the North's capital.

Moon says he'll try to persuade North Korea to accept his offers for reconciliation projects after the pandemic is stabilized. Moon has proposed reconnecting severed railways, resuming reunions of families split by war and sending South Korean tourists to North Korea.

North Korea has been taking intense anti-virus quarantine steps but it has steadfastly claimed there hasn't been a single case of the coronavirus on its territory. Many foreign experts are skeptical of the North's claim.