Kim Jong-un visits flood-damaged village
Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a flood-damaged village in North Hwanghae province after recent heavy rains left more than 900 homes inundated or destroyed, a state-media report said on Friday.
During the visit to the Taechong-ri Area of Unpha County, Kim ordered officials to send his special stock of grain to the flood victims and facilitate the use of necessary supplies in rebuilding the damaged sites, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in the report.
“It is of priority importance to quickly supply sleeping materials, daily commodities, medicines and other necessities to the flood-affected people to stabilize their living as early as possible,” the KCNA report quoted Kim as saying.
“He ordered the relevant field to submit a document on supplying every household in the afflicted area with the reserve food grain of the chairman of the State Affairs Commission,” KCNA said.
Although the KCNA did not specify the date of Kim’s visit, he is likely to have inspected the damaged sites on Thursday, as heavy rain warnings were issued in Hwanghae province for two days starting from Tuesday, reports Yonhap News Agency.
Nearly 730 homes and 600 hectares of rice fields have been flooded and 179 homes destroyed after a levee broke as heavy rainfall pounded the country for days, but no casualties were reported, according to the KCNA.
Kim’s latest visit marks the second of its kind since he became leader in 2011, following the inspection of North Hamgyong province that was hit by a flood in 2015.
North Korea is vulnerable to natural disasters due to its lack of infrastructure, with heavy rains, in particular, leaving thousands of people displaced in the impoverished country.