N. Korea holds key Cabinet meeting on this year's national economic goals

North Korea 09:16 July 15, 2022

SEOUL, July 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korea held a Cabinet meeting earlier this week to assess its economic performance for the first half of the year and urged utmost efforts to attain its goals in the remaining months, state media reported Friday.

The enlarged plenary meeting of the Cabinet took place via video links the previous day, chaired by Premier Kim Tok-hun, as Vice Premier Pak Jong-gun delivered a report, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Pak analyzed the "flaws" and "lessons" found in carrying out the economic projects in the first half of this year and urged officials to push ahead with the tasks at all costs with the "spirit of unconditional implementation."

North Korea's Cabinet Premier Kim Tok-hun (C) visits a heavy machine factory, in this undated photo released by the North's Korean Central News Agency on July 12, 2022. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

The KCNA did not provide details on the economic performance for the first half.

During the North's eighth party congress in January last year, leader Kim Jong-un admitted his five-year economic plan failed to meet its target and unveiled a new scheme focusing on self-reliance amid crippling global sanctions and a protracted border closure due to COVID-19.

Pyongyang has held key meetings virtually amid the COVID-19 pandemic since the format was introduced in June 2020.