Kim Jong Un urges gov't not to miss this years' grain production goal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Mar 20:37

The North Korean leader says the government should also focus on increasing field yields.

North Korean farmers work in a field of a collective farm in the South Hwanghae province, North Korea, September 30, 2011. (Reuters)

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un called on the government to ensure that the 2023 grain production target is reached "without fail", the state news agency reported on Thursday.

The North Korean government, which is under a series of international sanctions, has long faced difficulties in securing food for its people and regularly suffers from food shortages.

Pressure on the DPRK economy has been increased by the border closures to counter the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic - which was only opened recently for trade with China - as well as the series of storms and floods, which hit the country in the past years.

During the final day of a meeting of the country's ruling party on Wednesday, Kim "ardently called for attaining this year's grain production goal without fail," the agency said.

"In order to increase the nationwide agricultural output, attention should be paid to overcoming the lopsidedness in the guidance on farming ... and it is important to concentrate on increasing the per-hectare yield at all the farms," the news report added, citing Kim.

Earlier on Monday, DPRK's leader said there should be a "fundamental transformation" in the country's agriculture sector, calling for increased production, while on Tuesday Kim said the country should lay the “foundation for the stable and sustained development of agriculture."

“He [Kim] expressed the fixed determination and will of the Party Central Committee to bring about a revolutionary turn in the agricultural production without fail, saying that nothing is impossible as long as the strong leadership system is established in the whole Party and there is the united might of all the people,” state news agency KCNA said.

Last month, a spokesperson for South Korea's Ministry of Unification said the government estimates that food shortages in the North are "grave", claiming that the country requested support from the World Food Program.

In June 2021, Kim said the country was facing a "tense food situation" and called on the nation to prepare for the "worst-ever situation", and later in the year, state news outlet KCTV reported that North Korea was facing a "food crisis".