North Korean leader Kim Jong - un has called a session of the Politburo to discuss " handling the pressing issue of how to guarantee Pyongyang residents ' livelihood " and " developing the self - reliant economy " and " improving people ' s living standards , " the official Rodong Sinmun reported Monday . It was Kim ' s first public appearance in about two weeks since he chaired a meeting of the Workers Party ' s Central Military Commission . The main issues were ensuring a stable supply of food , electricity and fuel , the daily added . The provision of basic necessities has become a serious problem even in Pyongyang , where the North Korean elite live , as a result of international sanctions and border closures due to the coronavirus epidemic . The capital is naturally the regime ' s top priority since it relies on the party and military elite to prop it up .   The regime has supplied food for Pyongyang residents even when provincial regions suffered from shortages , according to one defector here . In a recent report , Fitch Solutions , a subsidiary of global ratings firm Fitch , predicted that the North ' s economy will shrink six percent this year due to sanctions and the epidemic , the steepest in 23 years since the famine of the 1990 s . The Rodong Sinmun singled out the chemical industry for special mention , presumably because it is in charge of fertilizer production , which is essential to increase food harvests . It was at a fertilizer plant in Sunchon , South Pyongan Province that Kim Jong - un made his public reappearance last month after a 21 - day absence . The North has also kept up a relentless campaign of denunciations and threats against South Korea in the last couple of weeks , suggesting that the regime is reaching the end of its tether and desperate to deflect any restiveness at home . [ By Kim Myong - song ] 	 Copyright ⓒ Chosunilbo & Chosun . com