North Korea has urged its workers in related sectors to thoroughly prepare for potential natural disasters that could occur due to abnormal weather during the monsoon season, claiming that these disasters are not just natural calamities but rather human-made problems.
North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun published an editorial on the front page titled “The Role of Party Organizations is Crucial to the People’s Safety and the Nation’s Revival.” The editorial claimed that the damage from floods, heavy rains, and strong winds was not a result of natural disasters but entirely due to workers’ irresponsibility and lack of discipline. It called for heightened vigilance in response to these issues.
Furthermore, it stressed, “We must ensure that serious consequences, such as harm and infringement to the interests of the state and the people due to the irresponsible and extreme neglect of duty by workers, do not occur again,” and “We must be on high alert and fully prepare for projects to deal with disaster-prone abnormal weather.”
It also emphasized that “the biggest enemies of disaster prevention projects are complacency, carelessness, and a reliance on luck.” It directed officials to prepare thoroughly and respond proactively to the monsoon season.
In the agricultural sector, they encouraged crop protection through water management. They also urged the assurance of structural stability in the power, coal, and mining sectors. They called for safety measures in housing construction sites. In the land and urban management sectors, they pushed for the repair and maintenance of sewage and rainwater networks. The meteorological and hydrological sectors emphasized the need to ensure the speed, accuracy, and scientific nature of weather forecasts.
It specifically urged responsible workers to “take full responsibility before the Party for the safety of the residents and employees in their respective regions and units and for the implementation of the Party’s economic policies, and to strongly manage and guide crisis management work with an extraordinary sense of mission.”