North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during a Workers' Party meeting in Pyongyang, June 18, in this photo provided by the North Korean government. AP-Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to break through the difficulties facing his country as he concluded a key Workers' Party meeting after discussing ways to deal with food shortages and relations with the United States, state media reported Saturday.

Throughout the four-day plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee, the third of its kind this year, Kim discussed how to cope with economic challenges, including food shortages and anti-pandemic efforts.

He also discussed ways to deal with the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden, saying the North should be ready for both dialogue and confrontation, and more importantly, confrontation amid the "fast-changing" situation on the Korean Peninsula.

As he wrapped up the meeting Friday, Kim "solemnly swore on behalf of the WPK Central Committee that the Party will surely break through head-on the difficulties lying in the way of the revolution," and remain loyal to the revolutionary idea to the end regardless of the "severer difficulties it may be confronted with in the future," the Korean Central News Agency said.

The meeting also dealt with organizational issues, including the election of members to the political bureau.

Thae Hyong-chol, vice president of the Presidium, was elected as member of the bureau.

The North appears not to have discussed who will fill in the new "first secretary" post, a No. 2 position created after the North revised its rules at a rare congress in January. (Yonhap)