US President Joe Biden on Saturday said that his administration had offered to send COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea to help the country fight the outbreak, but had been snubbed by Pyongyang.

“We’ve offered vaccines, not only to North Korea but to China as well, and we’re prepared to do that immediately,” the 79-year-old said from Seoul, where he is on a visit to meet newly elected South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl.

“We’ve got no response,” Biden explained.

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The two leaders also went on to release a joint statement on their concern about the COVID-19 outbreak in North Korea, saying, “The ROK and the US are willing to work with the international community to provide assistance to the DPRK to combat the virus.”

Since North Korea reported its first suspected COVID-19 case in over two years last Thursday, reported numbers of cases have quickly swelled, with state media claiming that nearly 2.5 million people have been infected since late-April.

While Pyongyang is referring to suspected COVID-19 cases in the country as “fever,” the rapid spread of infections in North Korea suggests that the malaise is anything but a common cold.

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Indeed, daily new case counts have continued to rise at a breakneck pace since North Korea announced its first case, despite the country being under complete lockdown and despite infected patients being treated in isolation.

Given the rate at which infections are spreading in North Korea, experts believe that the country, with its antiquated medical infrastructure and lack of vaccines, is on the brink of an epidemiological catastrophe.

As it stands, reports suggest that North Korea has ramped up the production of medicines to help fight the epidemic, and state media has resorted to recommending traditional remedies for those not seriously ill.