North Korea will not seek outside aid to recover from floods that have ravaged areas of the country bordering China, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said, ordering officials to bring thousands of people displaced by floods to the capital for temporary care.
Kim said it would take two to three months to rebuild homes and stabilize flood-affected areas. Until then, his government plans to accommodate around 15.400 people, including mothers, children, the elderly and disabled soldiers, in facilities in Pyongyang, the North Korean news agency KCNA reported today.
The agency said Kim made the remarks during a two-day visit to the city of Uiju, which ended yesterday, to talk with flood-affected people and reconstruction efforts.
The agency spoke of Kim with typical praise, pointing out that his visit showed "holy leadership" and "warm love and dedicated service to the people."
According to state media reports, heavy rains at the end of July destroyed 4.100 houses, a large area of agricultural land and numerous other buildings, roads, railways in the northwestern city of Sinuiju, next to the city of Uiju.
North Korea did not give a death toll, but Kim was quoted as saying he blamed public officials for neglecting disaster prevention, which caused an "unacceptable number of casualties."
Traditional allies Russia and China as well as international aid organizations have offered to send aid to North Korea, but it has not publicly expressed its desire to receive the aid.
"Expressing gratitude to various foreign countries and international organizations for their offer of humanitarian aid, (Kim) said that we believe the best in all spheres of state affairs is to firmly trust the people and solve problems by relying on ourselves," KCNA reported.
Kim made a similar statement earlier this Sunday when Russian President Vladimir Putin offered help, expressing gratitude but saying North Korea had established its own reconstruction plans and would seek Moscow's help if needed later.
South Korea has also offered to send aid but it is highly unlikely that North Korea will accept this. Tensions between the two Koreas are at an all-time high due to North Korea's growing nuclear ambitions and South Korea expanding military exercises with the US and Japan.
North Korea also rejected South Korea's offer of help as it battled the Covid-19 outbreak.
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