
Severe floods in North Korea, state of emergency declared
Last Updated on July 30, 2024 8:03 am
Severe flooding has occurred in northwestern North Korea near the border with China. Thousands of people have been stranded in the country due to floods, according to state media reports. Meanwhile, the country’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, has declared a state of emergency to deal with the disaster.
Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers’ Party in North Korea, confirmed this information in a report on Monday (July 29).
According to the report, Sinuiju city and various areas of Wiju district of the country were submerged in flood water. More than 4,200 people have been trapped in water, thousands of acres of crops have been washed away.
Military helicopters and planes are evacuating people from affected areas to safer places, Rodong Sinmun said. More than 10 army helicopters have been used in this work.
Along with that, Rodong Sinmun also published the photos of the flood. In those pictures, it is seen that the fleet of cars is moving forward through the flood water. Kim Jong Un is sitting in the front of the fleet in a black Lexus looking out the window and watching the flood. In addition, this official newspaper of North Korea has also printed the pictures of the flooded towns in the pictures taken from the helicopter.
Rodong Sinmun did not say how many people died in the flood. In a report, the BBC reported that flooding has occurred in all areas, including those bordering China.
It has also been said that the current food crisis in North Korea will intensify this flood.
Meanwhile, Singapore-based think tank S. Gordon Kang, an expert on North Korea at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told the BBC that floods are not a rare natural disaster in North Korea, but that Kim Jong Un has been on the ground to inspect the flood situation – a rare occurrence. Because, the supreme leader of this country, which is almost isolated from the international environment, usually makes headlines for his negative comments towards the neighboring countries and the Western world led by the United States. Apart from this, he is hardly seen in the news headlines for any other issue or reason.
Gordon Kang told the BBC, “I think Kim Jong-un is actually trying to send a message to the people of the country that he has the capacity to provide assistance to the people affected by the floods – by inspecting the flood situation on the ground.”
Incidentally, North Korea is one of the poorest countries in the world. Although the government led by Kim Jong Un does not disclose almost any information about the country to the outside world, the CIA World Fact Book, a document published recently by the US intelligence agency CIA in 2015, said that the annual per capita income of the North Korean people is only 1,700 dollars.
“However, North Korea is probably in a slightly more advantageous position than before,” Kang said. The main reason for this is the country’s recent friendship with China and Russia.
Source: BBC