North Korea’s parliament has outlined plans to normalize industrial output this year and meet its economic goals in 2022 despite “the worst turmoil” amid the coronavirus pandemic, state media said on Thursday.
The reclusive country’s rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, held a two-day meeting from Tuesday to discuss the government budget, economic policy and personnel changes, the official KCNA news agency said.
South Korea’s central bank said the North’s economy will shrink for a second year in a row in 2021, after suffering the biggest contraction in more than two decades a year earlier, hit by COVID-19 lockdowns and international sanctions over its weapons programs .
Leader Kim Jong Un did not attend the meeting, but cabinet chief Kim Tok Hun reviewed last year’s work and set tasks for key industries this year.
The premier praised the country for “successfully dealing with the worst upheaval since its founding” amid the COVID-19 outbreak, despite “shortcomings” in implementing last year’s plans.
