North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned about possible food shortages and urged the country to brace for extended COVID-19 restrictions as he opened a major political conference to discuss national efforts to salvage a broken economy.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency also said Wednesday that Kim called for discussions on how the North should deal with the "current international situation," though it did not mention any specific comments from Kim about the United States or South Korea.
North Korea has so far ignored the allies' calls to resume nuclear negotiations that have stalled for two years following the collapse of Kim's ambitious summitry with former President Donald Trump, it was derailed by disagreements over exchanging relief from crippling U.S.-led sanctions with denuclearization steps by the North.
The North's economy has deteriorated amid pandemic border closures, which choked off trade with China, while devastating typhoons and floods last summer decimated crops.
Monitors assessing the situation in North Korea have yet to see signs of mass starvation or major instability, but some analysts say conditions could be aligning for a perfect storm that undercuts food and exchange markets and triggers public panic. The Korea Development Institute, a South Korean government think tank, said last month the North could face food shortages of around 1 million tons this year.
During the plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee that opened Tuesday, Kim urged officials to find ways to boost agricultural production, saying the country's food situation "is now getting tense."
KCNA said Kim also "set forth the tasks for the state to maintain perfect anti-epidemic state" -- suggesting North Korea would extend its pandemic lockdown despite the stress on its economy.
While the report was short on specifics, the party meeting does provide more clues about how serious food and consumer goods shortages are becoming in North Korea, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul.
"Extended pandemic border restrictions are taking a toll on the economy as price and exchange rate indicators appear to be worsening," he said.
Experts widely doubt North Korea's claim that it has not had a single COVID-19 case, given its poor health infrastructure and porous border with China, its major ally and economic lifeline.
Kim had called for the party meeting to review national efforts to rebuild the economy in the first half of the year.
While addressing "unfavorable" conditions and challenges on Tuesday, Kim also expressed appreciation over what he described as improvements, claiming that the country's industrial output rose 25% from last year, KCNA said.
The report said the Central Committee meeting will continue but did not specify until when.
North Korea held its first ruling party congress in five years in January, when it laid out development plans for the next five years.
At that meeting Kim urged the country to be resilient in their struggle for economic self-reliance, He also called for reasserting greater state control over the economy, boosting agricultural production and prioritizing the development of the chemical and metal industries.
Experts say those sectors are crucial to revitalizing industrial production that has been undercut by sanctions and the suspension of imports of factory materials amid the pandemic.
The Israeli military said Tuesday that Iran has fired missiles at Israel, and air raid sirens sounded across the country as residents were ordered to remain close to bomb shelters.
Canada will be imposing a 25 per cent surtax on select imports of steel and aluminum from China, after unveiling its final list of impacted products on Tuesday.
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard denies that he raped the woman who is accusing him of sexual assault, or that he touched her sexually in any way without her consent.
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In the second part of a five-part series, W5's Avery Haines follows the journeys of migrants who risk life and limb to ride atop Mexican freight trains, desperate to avoid narco territory as they make their way towards the U.S. border.
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Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has controversially broken royal protocol and claimed in his upcoming memoir that Queen Elizabeth II was suffering from bone cancer before her death.
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A B.C. condo owner who was blamed for a cockroach infestation in her building and charged thousands of dollars for the cost of eradicating the bugs must be refunded, the civil resolution tribunal ruled.
Ontario Provincial Police laid charges against an Ottawa driver after a child was found to not be wearing a seatbelt inside a vehicle early Sunday morning.
Ontario politicians are set to make their annual pilgrimage to the International Plowing Match today.
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Four people were killed and seven wounded in a shooting attack in the Jaffa neighbourhood of Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Israeli police said in a statement.
A bus carrying young students and their teachers on a school trip caught fire in suburban Bangkok on Tuesday, leaving more than 20 feared dead, officials and rescuers said.
As Israel pummels southern Lebanon with airstrikes, tens of thousands of residents are fleeing their homes in fear. But Hamza is staying. His mission is to care for the dogs and other animals left behind.
Tim Walz and JD Vance will meet for their first and possibly only vice-presidential debate Tuesday, in what could be the last debate for both campaigns to argue their case before the U.S. election.
Newly unearthed reports contradict previous claims made by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about his travel to China, including a claim that he traveled to China during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.
Princess Beatrice is pregnant with her second child, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday.
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The Bloc Quebecois will try to put the squeeze on the Liberals today by calling for a debate in the House of Commons about increasing old age pension payments for all seniors.
The House of Commons will hold an emergency debate this evening on the crisis in Lebanon after Israel's ground incursion intensified fears of a full-scale invasion.
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Health Canada issued a recall last week for various sexual enhancement products for containing prescribed drugs like tadalafil and sildenafil.
The fertility rate in Canada reached an all-time low in 2023, and the lowest rate was recorded in British Columbia, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday's arrival of a SpaceX capsule.
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Canadian innovators and technical leaders gathered in Ottawa Thursday to demonstrate the latest cutting-edge technology.
Gavin Creel, a Tony-winning Broadway veteran known for his work in productions of “Hello, Dolly!†“Waitress†and “The Book of Mormon,†has died, according to his representative. He was 48.
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard denies that he raped the woman who is accusing him of sexual assault, or that he touched her sexually in any way without her consent.
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Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri tried to lay to rest rumours that he has friction with Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, Inc.
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General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle division will pay a US$1.5 million penalty after the unit failed to fully report a crash involving a pedestrian, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday.
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Saskatchewan residents will vote for their next provincial government on Oct. 28.
Exclusive polling data collected by Â鶹´«Ã½ in partnership with Insightrix outlines what preferences voters have, if they’re familiar with the party leaders and what issues matter most as Saskatchewan enters into the 2024 provincial election campaign.
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Chatham-Kent police say a woman has been charged with assault after burning a bystander with a lighter during a dispute.
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