Kim ordered the military's medical arm to work on "immediately stabilizing the supply of medicines in Pyongyang City," according to KCNA and discussed ways to ensure hygiene at pharmacies.
After the meeting, Kim visited pharmacies in the capital, where he pointed out the short supply of medicine.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilized the military to respond to the country's first officially acknowledged outbreak of Covid-19, as the impoverished nation scrambles to address what state media has described as a "major national emergency."
Despite having placed all cities under lockdown on Thursday, a further 392,920 new cases of "fever" and eight deaths were recorded between Saturday and Sunday evening alone, state media outlet KCNA reported on Monday, though it did not specify Covid-19 as the cause of death.
That brings the total number of reported cases to 1.2 million, with more than 648,000 recovered, and the total death toll to 50. However, many experts are skeptical of the official figures, with few believing that a country of around 25 million people had been spared until now by a virus that has infected millions worldwide.
At an emergency meeting of top officials on Sunday, Kim said state-provided medicine wasn't being supplied to people through pharmacies in time. He criticized officials for "not properly recognizing the present crisis but only talking about the spirit of devotedly serving the people," according to KCNA.
He lambasted his cabinet and public health officials for "irresponsible work" and poor "organizing and executing," and accused the director of the central public prosecutor's office of "idleness and negligence of his duty," KCNA reported.
Kim ordered the military's medical arm to work on "immediately stabilizing the supply of medicines in Pyongyang City," according to KCNA and discussed ways to ensure hygiene at pharmacies.
After the meeting, Kim visited pharmacies in the capital, where he pointed out the short supply of medicine.
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