North Korea, currently focused on recovering from severe flood damage in the Yalu River area, has emphasized the importance of minimizing the impact of natural disasters. The country has stressed the need to prioritize preventing loss of life in its recovery efforts.
Rodong Sinmun, state-run media, reported in an article titled “Let’s Devote Ourselves to Minimizing Damage from Disastrous Abnormal Weather” that the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently held an emergency expanded meeting of the Politburo, stressing the need to prevent further damage from disastrous weather thoroughly.
The newspaper highlighted the top priority of protecting people’s lives and safety. It stated that while collapsed buildings can be rebuilt, the loss of life is irreplaceable, underscoring the critical importance of this issue.
It further emphasized, “No matter how much we mobilize our resources and potential to minimize damage in the shortest time possible, loss of life can never be tolerated under any circumstances or conditions,” urging the establishment of practical measures to prevent casualties.
Specifically, it mentioned the need to identify factors that could lead to casualties locally, establish a reporting system, prepare essential rescue tools for disaster situations, and enhance public education on the importance of disaster prevention and emergency response procedures.
This call aims to prevent further loss of life from anticipated rains, and it gains added significance given that North Korea has not provided specific figures on casualties from the recent heavy rainfall.
Regarding the damage caused by the heavy rains at the end of July, North Korean media reported that in Sinuiju and Uiju counties, over 4,100 households and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmland, as well as numerous public buildings, facilities, roads, and railways were flooded, providing only material damage figures.
During the emergency expanded meeting, Kim mentioned that unacceptable casualties had occurred, implying that there were casualties, but he did not provide specific numbers. Some speculate that reports indicating over 5,000 people were isolated and 4,200 were rescued suggest that around 1,000 casualties may have occurred.
On this day, North Korea also refrained from disclosing specific details about the flood situation, instead focusing solely on recovery efforts.
In an editorial on the front page, the newspaper encouraged party members, stating, “Comrades, let us respond to the call of the Party Central Committee and play a leading role in creating a miracle of transformation.” It emphasized that “all party members should fully devote themselves to the recovery work with a sense of mission and responsibility, demonstrating the Party members’ party spirit, revolutionary spirit, and people’s spirit to the whole world once again.”