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SEOUL (CNN) -
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, has admitted that his country is facing a food shortage that he attributed to the typhoon and floods last year, just months after warning North Koreans of a potential impending crisis.
Kim told the North Korean Workers' Party plenary meeting that the nation was experiencing a "tense food situation," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Wednesday.
The reserved country has isolated itself from the rest of the world even more during the pandemic.
Speaking on Tuesday, Kim said that the conditions and environment facing North Korea "have worsened going into this year," even though its economy has generally shown improvement.
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He further said that the ruling party meeting should measure the problem, according to KCNA.
Kim did not disclose the extent of the shortage, but it appears to be serious.
In April, KCNA reported that Kim urged people to undertake another "Arduous March" while addressing a high-level political meeting.
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The memory of the "Hard March" in North Korea
The term "Arduous March" refers to a period of devastating famine in the early 1990s, when North Korea's economy collapsed following the collapse of the Soviet Union, ending the flow of aid to the country.
Hundreds of thousands of people, or up to 10% of the country's population, were estimated to have starved to death.
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has estimated that North Korea is short of about 860,000 tons of food, enough for just over two months of supplies.
FAO's warning about the situation in Korea
In a report released Monday, the FAO said North Korea officially plans to import only about a fifth of the food it needs to fill gaps in domestic shortages.
The agency also said that while North Korea increased agricultural planting in 2020, the growth "mainly offset yield losses due to floods and storms" experienced by the Korean peninsula from early August to early September 2020.
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The FAO further warned that if the supply gap is not filled with imports or aid, North Koreans could experience "a lean period between August and October 2021."
KCNA said the plenary meeting will focus on directing all efforts to agriculture this year and addressing the epidemic situation.
Other topics listed in the report included the current international situation and the corresponding direction of the ruling party, the improvement of living standards and the care of children, and the discussion of organizational issues.
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