North Korea –
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a farming area hit by a typhoon and supervised military helicopters spraying pesticides in a bid to save important grain crops, state media said Friday (18/8).
Tropical storm Khanun made landfall in North Korea last week. Natural disasters in the country can be especially devastating due to weak infrastructure and widespread deforestation, which increases the country’s vulnerability to flooding.
The visit came hours after North Korea was accused at the UN Security Council of spending lavishly on its nuclear weapons program while its people are starving and lacking basic necessities.
On Thursday, South Korea’s espionage agency informed the country’s legislators that some 240 North Koreans had starved to death between January and July this year, lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum told reporters.
Kim visited rice fields in Kangwon Province which were hit by floods caused by typhoon Khanun. He predicted a “full recovery from the damage” thanks to the patriotism of the soldiers who helped save the crops, the KCNA news agency said.
Photos published by KCNA showed Kim, in a white jacket and trousers, crouching on the edge of a rice field while a military helicopter sprayed pesticides.
The North Korean leader said the military’s swift response to the damage from the typhoon “demonstrated the miracle of restoring flooded farmland in record time.”
Kim urged the country’s entire agricultural sector “to minimize damage from the climate disaster” and ensure that North Korea can “successfully achieve its grain production target for this year.” (uh/ab)
