North Korean leader chairs politburo meeting to discuss antivirus efforts, food shortage

In this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during an enlarged politburo meeting of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, Sept. 2. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a politburo meeting to discuss a series of key issues, such as nationwide anti-coronavirus measures and farm production, state media reported Friday.

Kim also discussed measures to thoroughly boost production of consumer goods and implement a land management policy, during the enlarged politburo session of the Workers' Party held Thursday, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

"Saying that the present dangerous situation of the worldwide pandemic which keeps spiraling out of control demands tighter nationwide epidemic prevention, he emphasized that all the party organizations and officials should reexamine the national epidemic prevention system and the work in this field, and conduct an intense political offensive to strain and awaken the epidemic prevention front once again," the KCNA said.

He stressed that tightening epidemic prevention is a task of "paramount importance" and warned officials against letting down their guard for "even a moment under the present situation."

The North has claimed to be coronavirus-free but has taken relatively swift and tough measures against the pandemic, such as imposing strict border controls since early last year.

Kim also set forth tasks to successfully conclude this year's farming and to "make a breakthrough in settling the food problem of the people."

Stressing the need to fully mobilize the labor force to ensure the state provision of farming equipment, he instructed officials to push ahead with increasing the grain yield "as much as possible before harvesting" to achieve the planned grain production goal.

Kim also called for improved land management to make them "unperturbed and safe from any natural disasters."

"He underlined the need to take thorough-going measures to overcome abnormal climate the danger of which has become higher in recent years, and to work out active and ambitious plan to conclude river improvement, afforestation for erosion control, dyke maintenance and tide embankment projects in the main and enter into their regular management in the five-year plan at least," the KCNA said.

The KCNA said the enlarged meeting dealt with "an organizational issue" but did not provide further details.

Top officials attended the meeting, including Jo Yong-won, secretary for organizational affairs of the party's Central Committee, and Choe Ryong-hae, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. Kim Jae-ryong, director of the Organization and Guidance Department, was also seated in the front row next to the presidium members.

Ri Pyong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party who is believed to have been dismissed from the Presidium, and Kim Yong-chol, head of the North's United Front Department, appears not to have attended the meeting.

The meeting comes as the North struggles to cope with its chronic food shortage, aggravated by recent flood damage in agricultural fields, amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic. (Yonhap)

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