North Korea ends big party meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to strengthen state control over agriculture and make all available efforts to increase grain production. During a recent four-day ruling Workers’ Party meeting, Kim said his government sees agricultural development as a matter of “strategic” importance and that farming goals should be settled without fail.

He said that all state sectors and units must provide “mental and moral, material and technical support and assistance to the rural communities." Kim also called for faster construction of new irrigation systems that would help the country cope with extreme weather conditions brought by climate change. Kim praised the plenary meeting for producing more definite proposals that would put agriculture on a “stable and sustained development track" and accelerate overall prosperity.