North Korean media have, in recent days, admitted that the country’s freight rail is suffering from an “acute shortage,” in a rare admission of a struggling DPRK industry.

While covering a visit by DPRK Premier Pak Pong Ju to the Jong Thae Electric Locomotive Complex, the Korean Central News Agency said the railways needed to be further modernized to address the issue.

“The consultative meeting held on the spot underlined the duty and important role of the complex to play in accelerating the modernization of railways and settling the acute shortage of railway freight