Isolated North Korea is warning its people to brace for a prolonged struggle against the coronavirus, claiming that broadening outbreaks and muddled immunisation programmes in other countries show vaccines aren't the ultimate solution.

The column published on Pyongyang's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper came amid questions on when and how vaccines would arrive in North Korea, according to AP.

The UN-backed program to ship Covid-19 vaccines worldwide said in February that North Korea could receive 1.9 million vaccine doses in the first half of this year.

However, COVAX has since warned of global shortages because the Serum Institute of India, which is licensed to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine, is putting its supplies into domestic demand while India's virus caseload is surging.