Kim Jong Un acknowledged that North Korea’s development goals have been "seriously delayed,” in the latest sign that sanctions, flooding and the coronavirus have dealt a triple blow to the country’s already anemic economy.
Kim told the first gathering of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee in eight months that the country "faced unexpected and inevitable challenges in various aspects,” state media said Thursday.
"Planned attainment of the goals for improving the national economy have been seriously delayed and the people’s living standard has not been improved remarkably,” Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.