North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a local car industry complex and emphasized its role in efforts to foster the communist nation's economy, according to Pyongyang's state media Tuesday.
The report of Kim's visit to the Sungri Motor Complex came amid mounting pressure on the North from U.N.-led sanctions.
It also came hours after the Donald Trump administration put Pyongyang back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
"The hostile forces' desperate efforts to block the advance of (North Korea) make the indomitable spirit of the Korean workers stronger and make them produce a great miracle startling the world," Kim was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
He cited the newly produced 5-ton trucks at the complex, the KCNA added in its English-version article.
It is very important for the North to produce trucks by itself in order to develop its economy and strengthen its national power, Kim said.
As usual, the KCNA did not specify the date of Kim's activity.
The North's official news agency and other state-controlled media kept mum on whether Kim met with Song Tao, a special Chinese envoy who made a four-day trip to the country.
Pyongyang has not formally responded yet to Washington's designation of it as a state sponsor of terrorism.
