This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Oct. 2, shows North Korean Premier Kim Tok-hun, center, inspecting a farm in a county in North Pyongan Province. Yonhap

North Korea has held an enlarged plenary meeting of the Cabinet to assess economic performances in the third quarter, stressing the need to attain this year's goal of grain output without fail, state media reported Friday.

Premier Kim Tok-hun presided over the meeting held via a video link on Thursday to discuss ways to better implement the country's economic plan for this year, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The North discussed how to seamlessly achieve the goal of grain production for this year as a key agenda item and assessed "flaws" found during the process of carrying out the economic plan in the third quarter, the report said.

In December, North Korea placed its top priority on boosting grain production amid the country's food shortages as it laid out 12 major economic goals for this year.

With deaths from starvation reported in some regions, North Korea has reportedly been facing serious food shortages, as its prolonged COVID-19 border closure and disruptions in state-controlled food supply have aggravated the situation.

Still, South Korea's unification ministry said the North's food situation appears to have improved, compared with the first six months of the year, on the back of an increase in the crop harvest and imports from China.

North Korea replaced several Cabinet members last week during a key parliamentary meeting, but Premier Kim retained his job despite speculation that he may be dismissed due to the poor response to flood damage from a typhoon in August.

In August, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un berated the premier over his "irresponsible" attitude in not preventing damage to farmland from the typhoon. (Yonhap)