North Korea has reportedly committed to revitalizing industrial output and returning the economy to ‘normalcy’ following the disruption created by the COVID-19 outbreak.

As per reports, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated on Thursday that the principal responsibility of North Korea's Cabinet will be to ensure that the nation achieves its economic benchmarks and 12 primary goals without fail.

As per the KCNA, Premier Kim Tok Hun stated during a parliamentary session that officials would revive the current situation to put the economy back on a normal track and give the people a more secure and better life.

Hun stated that the cabinet bears the honorable responsibility of making 2023 a critical year of progress in commemoration of the country's 75th anniversary.

According to the KCNA, North Korea has made exceptional progress in its struggle for economic reform and has also won a major anti-epidemic victory that has now been recorded in the global history of health.

North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, commenced a two-day session on Tuesday to examine economic and other problems.

Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, abstained from the legislative meeting despite holding nearly full control.

As per South Korea's central bank, North Korea's economy contracted by an assessed 0.1% in 2021, the second consecutive year of fall, as economic constraints and international sanctions increased the reclusive country's isolation.

The co-editor of the website North Korean Economy Watch, Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, stated that although there is no proof of widespread famine, conditions have gotten much worse for the average citizen since the start of the pandemic, and the government's response is that those challenges will persist.

Kim Jong Un declared success against the outbreak in August and authorized the lifting of sanctions.

At the time, authorities asserted that the country had only seen 74 COVID-19 fatalities, the lowest death toll in the world.

Source credit: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/1/19/north-korea-pledges-to-revitalise-economy-after-covid-victory