The North made the call during an extended cabinet meeting it recently convened to review the work that has been done over the past four years and to discuss what measures should be taken for next year, the cabinet newspaper Minju Choson reported Saturday.

"If the economic leaders, including the cabinet, do not properly instruct (workers) and execute economic plans in line with the party's envisioned plans and intentions, and fail to overcome the difficulties with the spirit of self-reliance and the power of science and technology, we will not be able to put our resolution into practice," the outlet quoted Premier Kim Jae-ryong at the meeting as saying.

Pyongyang has been devoted to carrying out a five-year economic development plan that will end in 2020. But it's widely seen as falling far short of expectations in the face of tough global sanctions imposed on its economy.

It appears the North is trying to ramp up its domestic campaign for economic development through self-reliance, as declared by leader Kim in May 2016.

The North has been putting more focus on economic development since its policy shift announced in April 2018, from the "byongjin" policy of simultaneously seeking nuclear and economic development.

It is rare for North Korea to have convened an extended cabinet meeting around the year's end, as is holding one for the fourth time this year alone. From 2016-18, it held only one session every year. (Yonhap)