North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his top deputies have pushed for a crackdown on officials who abuse their power and commit other �unsound and non-revolutionary acts,� state media reported Monday, as Kim seeks greater internal unity to overcome a COVID-19 outbreak and economic difficulties.

It wasn�t clear what specific acts were mentioned at the ruling Workers� Party meeting on Sunday. But possible state crackdowns on such alleged acts could be an attempt to solidify Kim�s control of his people and get them to rally behind his leadership in the face of the domestic hardships, some observers say.

Kim and other senior party secretaries discussed �waging a more intensive struggle against unsound and non-revolutionary acts including abuse of power and bureaucratism revealed among some party officials,� the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim ordered the authority of the party�s auditing commission and other local discipline supervision systems to be bolstered to promote the party�s �monolithic leadership� and �the broad political activities of the party through the strong discipline system,� KCNA said.

Kim has previously occasionally called for struggles against �anti-socialist practices� at home in the past two years amid outside worries about his country�s fragile economy that has been battered by pandemic-related border shutdowns, U.N. sanctions and his own mismanagement.

The North�s elevated restrictions on movement in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak could cause a further strain on the country�s economic difficulties, some experts say.

North Korea on May 12 admitted the omicron variant of the coronavirus had infected people, and it subsequently has said about 4.5 million people � more than 17% of its 26 million people � have fallen ill with fevers and only 72 have died. Foreign experts widely doubt the outbreak was North Korea�s first, and they believe the statistics being disclosed in state media are manipulated to prevent political damage to Kim while bolstering internal control and promoting his leadership.

During a Workers� Party conference last week, Kim claimed the pandemic situation has passed the stage of �serious crisis� and ordered officials to remedy �the shortcomings and evils in the anti-epidemic work� and take steps to build up the country�s anti-pandemic capability.

(AP)