This file photo shows North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song giving a speech at the U.N. headquarters in New York in November 2019. (Kyodo)

       BEIJING (Kyodo) -- North Korea has faced its worst food crisis in more than a decade, the Asian country said in a report to the United Nations, amid fears that its citizens have encountered serious difficulties in obtaining daily necessities.

       In North Korea's first report on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, the country also blamed international sanctions aimed at thwarting its nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions, saying they have been impeding the nation's economic development.

       North Korea said domestic cereal production in 2018 was around 4.95 million tons, the lowest level during the last 10 years, against a backdrop of "natural disasters and weak resilience, insufficient farming materials and low level of mechanization."

       In 2019, the country produced 6.65 million tons of cereal, the highest yield in the past decade, but natural disasters triggered by consecutive typhoons and floods again pushed down the production to 5.52 million tons in 2020, it added.

       Acknowledging it has suffered energy and material shortages, North Korea also said, "The lack of the capacity of health personnel, low technical foundation of pharmaceutical and medical appliance plants and shortage of essential medicines remain as challenges."

       "Most vaccination is supplied through joint funding mechanism," it added, indicating that support by other nations is necessary for North Korea to grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic.

       North Korea claims no infection cases have been confirmed at home, but it has cut off traffic to and from its neighbors since early last year to prevent the virus, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, from entering the country.

       In addition to natural disasters, the traffic restrictions have stifled North Korea's trade with China, weighing heavily on the broader economy. North Korea depends on China for more than 90 percent of its trade.

       In the latest report, meanwhile, North Korea criticized "hostile policies" against the Asian nation, mainly by the United States, for landing it in a predicament.

       "Peace and development is the common aspiration of the era and a peaceful environment is essential for improving the people's living by concentrating all efforts on economic construction," North Korea said.

       "However, due to the continued hostile military actions, smear campaigns and hostile policies against" North Korea, the country's "sovereignty and right to development are faced with grave challenges," it added.

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