Kim Jong Un, speaking yesterday at a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party Central Committee to review progress on key craft policies and measures to solve economic problems, said the country's economy has improved this year, but called for measures to address the "strained" food situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and typhoons last year, state media reported Wednesday.
According to the official news agency KCNA, the committee has set goals and tasks to achieve its new five-year business plan outlined in the previous February session, including increasing food and metal production. In his speech, Kim said that the overall economy improved in the first half of the year, with total industrial production up 25% from the previous year.
Kim explained that the insufficient availability of food resources is becoming worrying as the agricultural sector was unable to reach its grain production plan due to the damage caused by the typhoon that hit the country last year.
The party pledged this year to focus all efforts on agriculture and discuss ways to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim then called for measures to be taken to minimize the impacts of further natural disasters. in order to ensure the achievement of the food production targets set for this year.
North Korea has not officially confirmed any cases of COVID-19, but has imposed strict anti-COVID measures including the closure of borders and the restriction of domestic travel.