WNAM REPORT: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has replaced the public security minister and chiefs of the ruling party’s provincial committees over severe damage from the recent downpours in the northern border areas along the Amnok River.
The decision was made at an emergency enlarged politburo meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) held in the border city of Sinuiju in North Phyongan Province on Monday and Tuesday, as reported on Wednesday.
Kim visited flood-hit areas in Sinuiju and Uiju County of the province on Sunday and guided an operation to rescue around 5,000 isolated residents with the military’s helicopters.
During Tuesday’s meeting, North Korea appointed Pang Tu-sop, first vice director of the WPK’s political leadership department over military affairs, as the public security minister. Minister Ri Thae-sop is presumed to have been fired.
It also replaced chief secretaries of the WPK’s North Phyongan and Jagang provincial committees.
At Monday’s gathering, Kim “proposed to strictly punish those who severely neglected their responsible duties assigned by the Party and the state and thus caused even the casualty that can not be allowed,” as per reports.
North Korea is vulnerable to natural disasters due to its lack of infrastructure, with heavy rains, in particular, displacing thousands of people in the impoverished country.
The report said public buildings, facilities, roads and railways, including more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmlands, were flooded due to the heavy rains in Sinuiju and Uiju County.
But the North’s state media did not reveal details about casualties from the latest downpours. South Korea’s unification ministry said Tuesday that the country appears to have sustained “considerable” damage, citing the North’s media report on the need to restore electricity and communication lines, as well as supply medicine.
Earlier this week, Kim designated some areas along the Amnok River, also known as the Yalu River, in the North Phyongan, Jagang and Ryanggang provinces as “areas of special-level disaster emergency.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, the North unanimously adopted a decision to rapidly address the flood damage in the North Phyongan and Jagang provinces, the KCNA reported.
Kim ordered the immediate dispatch of construction workers to the disaster-hit areas and the supply of necessary materials.
He also called on the meteorological agency to make forecasts responsibly and ensure thorough preparations to prevent any casualties.
The meeting took place on his armored train, which is equipped with protective features and mortars for security, and can also be used for lodging.
The state media published several photos of Kim inspecting the flood damage in Sinuiju on a lifeboat. The village he toured looked severely flooded, with almost all buildings submerged up to their roofs.
In a separate dispatch, said the reports that the Air Force airlifted more than 150 people who were isolated in the Janghang-ri area in Ryanggang Province.
