North Korea has called on its people to step up "self-reliance" and described the recent decade when global sanctions were bolstered as the "most severe hardship" the nation has ever faced.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said on Thursday that the country had experienced post-war ashes and the "Arduous March" in the past, but that challenges of the past decade have been the most severe tribulation in the country’s history.

The Arduous March refers to a period of severe economic contract in the 1990s that led to famine and hardship for millions of North Korean people.  

But the state media outlet said that regardless of the difficulty imposed by sanctions, North Korea achieved something more powerful, a reference to the country’s nuclear program.

It said that based on this achievement, the country has ushered in a new era, and that its self-reliance will only continue to strengthen.