Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his sympathy to Kim Jong Un over the devastating floods that killed many people and damaged thousands of homes in North Korea, the Kremlin said Saturday (3/8).
North Korea said Sunday that Putin also offered “direct humanitarian support” to help the recovery effort. Kim welcomed the offer, saying he “deeply appreciates the deep feelings of a true friend.”
Pyongyang reported this week that record-breaking rains on July 27 killed an unspecified number of people, flooded homes and submerged large swathes of farmland in the north near China.
“I ask you to convey words of sympathy and support to all those who lost their loved ones as a result of the disaster,” Putin said in a telegram to Kim.
“You can always count on our help and support,” he said.
“A message of sympathy from Moscow was conveyed to the DPRK (North Korea -ed) Foreign Ministry on Saturday,” the official news agency said. KCNAwho added that the information was immediately reported to Kim.
Kim appreciated Putin's willingness to deploy the aid, but stressed that “necessary measures as part of the state policy have been implemented at this stage.”
Regarding the offer, Kim stated that “if help is needed in the process, he will ask for it from his friends in Moscow,” according to the report. KCNA.
Pyongyang said Wednesday that officials' negligence in disaster prevention duties led to the deaths, although it did not provide details on the location of the incident.
North Korea said there were no casualties in the Sinuiju area, an area it previously described as having suffered the “worst flood damage”
North Korea and Russia have enjoyed close ties since the North's founding after World War II. Their ties have grown closer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
South Korean media, which have offered assistance to victims, said this week the number of dead and missing could reach 1,500.
Kim slammed the report, calling it a “smear campaign to embarrass us and tarnish” North Korea's image.
North Korea has been accused of violating arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia for use in the Ukraine war. (ah/ft)
