AMN/ WEB DESK
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has said that the faltering economy will be the national priority this year as the country faces a great life-and-death struggle. He was speaking at the end of a key ruling party meeting, which coincides with him being in power for 10 years.
A self-imposed Coronavirus blockade has left North Korea struggling with food shortages. There was no direct mention of the United States or South Korea in his speech. Mr Kim said, increasing development and improving people’s living standards was the main task. He acknowledged the harsh situation in 2021 and set an important task for making radical progress in solving the food, clothing and housing problem for the people, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
Mr Kim said, battling the pandemic was one of the main goals for the coming year. Emergency epidemic prevention work should be made a top priority in the state work. But, he also said, Pyongyang would continue to strengthen its defence capabilities because of an increasingly unstable military environment on the Korean peninsula.