SEOUL--North Korean leader Kim Jong Un admitted his country lacked modern medical facilities in a rare assessment of its system and said improving its health care was “crucial” as he marked the construction of a new hospital, state media said Wednesday.

Kim’s remarks and the groundbreaking for the new hospital in Pyongyang come amid worries that a coronavirus epidemic in the impoverished country could be devastating due its chronic lack of medical supplies and outdated medical infrastructure.

North Korea has engaged in an intense campaign to guard against COVID-19, though it has steadfastly claimed no one has been sickened, a claim many foreign experts doubt.

During a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a “modern” general hospital in Pyongyang on Tuesday, Kim said the state’s efforts should be directed “to prop up the field of public health,” according to the Korean Central News Agency. It cited Kim as saying the construction must be completed before October’s 75th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party.

Kim said the ruling party decided on building the hospital during a key party meeting in late December and was working to have it finished “in the shortest time.” In a rare admission on a North Korean system, Kim also said, “Frankly speaking, our party ... criticized in a heart-aching manner the fact that there is not a modern medical and health care facility even in our capital city,” according to KCNA.

Kim appears to be using the hospital construction to burnish his image as a leader caring about public livelihoods at a time when his country is grappling with international sanctions amid stalled nuclear diplomacy with the United States, said Ahn Kyung-su, head of the Seoul-based private Research Center of DPRK Health and Welfare.

He said North Korea has several modern general hospitals in Pyongyang but an analysis of a blueprint for the new hospital shown in KCNA photos suggested it would be the most sophisticated hospital in North Korea when it’s built.

Some observers said North Korea may have hurried the hospital’s construction since China reported the first cases of the new disease in late December and North Korea soon closed its borders in a disease-control measure.

Kim’s attendance at the hospital ceremony also confirmed he returned to Pyongyang after supervising artillery firing exercises on North Korea’s east coast. His visits to the rural coastal areas had prompted outside speculation he might have been trying to avoid the virus.

North Korea banned foreign tourists, delayed the school year and quarantined hundreds of foreigners and thousands of locals to avoid the virus that has spread worldwide. Last week, KCNA described authorities inspecting and disinfecting vehicles, vessels and goods at border areas and ports and said some imports remained sealed for 10 days before being handed over to recipients.

Groups that monitor North Korea from Seoul say the country has had cases of infection with the new coronavirus and fatalities. Some experts say the Kim government considers public disclosure of those cases hurting its tight grip on power.

The chief of 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea said last week he was fairly certain North Korea has not been spared. Army Gen. Robert Abrams noted the North had halted military training for a month, essential putting its troops in a lockdown, but has since resumed training exercises and flying.

Hundreds of foreigners who were quarantined have been released, including some diplomats who were flown to Vladivostok, Russia, on a special North Korean flight. It wasn’t immediately known if North Korea plans another.