N.Korea's COVID lockdown is harsh as war: Kim

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has made new comments on the country's fight against the coronavirus pandemic, acknowledging the struggle of its strict and prolonged lockdown.

In a video aired by North Korea's state-run television, the leader says that the difficulties and hardship caused by the world health crisis, quote, "are no less harsh for us than those in the wartime situation."

He was making the speech to a veterans' conference marking 68th anniversary of the Korean War's armistice.

He says this generation will be victorious over COVID, just as the previous generation was victorious during the war.

In June Kim publicly reprimanded several top party officials for failures in the battle against COVID that he said put the country at risk, according to state media.

He reportedly said at the time that the failings had created a major crisis.