North Korea's Kim says 'great crisis' caused by pandemic lapse

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a plenary meeting of the Workers' Party central committee in Pyongyang, North Korea in this photo supplied by North Korea's Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 10, 2021. KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the failure to implement measures to tackle the coronavirus had caused a "great crisis" and he chastised ruling party officials for risking the safety of the country and people, state media reported on Wednesday.

The report by state news agency KCNA did not elaborate on the nature of the crisis or how it put people at risk.