North Korean Leader executes 30 officials over flood response failures

North Korea reportedly executed 30 government officials last month for their alleged failure to effectively respond to devastating floods and landslides that claimed the lives of over 4,000 people.

The officials were charged with corruption and dereliction of duty, according to a report by South Korean outlet TV Chosun.

The catastrophic flooding struck the Chagang province in July, displacing more than 15,000 people and causing widespread destruction.

The northwestern city of Sinuiju and the neighbouring Uiju were particularly hard-hit, with over 4,100 homes, 7,410 acres of farmland, and vital infrastructure, including roads, buildings, and railway lines, severely damaged.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered harsh penalties for the officials deemed responsible for the inadequate disaster response, according to the Independent.

The North Korean Central News Agency reported that authorities were instructed to “strictly punish” those accountable.

An unnamed official within the Kim regime told TV Chosun that 20 to 30 high-ranking cadres in the flood-stricken areas were executed late last month.

However, the report has yet to be independently verified, raising questions about the extent and accuracy of the information emerging from the secretive state.

AP reports that after devastating floods, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared that the country would not accept any international aid.

However, he ordered officials to relocate thousands of displaced residents to the capital, Pyongyang, where they would receive better care and support.

Meanwhile, the government anticipated that the rebuilding efforts would take two to three months, during which time it planned to support nearly 15,400 vulnerable people in Pyongyang.

Mr Kim dismissed a senior official, Kang Bong-hoon, from his position as the provincial party committee Secretary for Chagang Province, according to TV Chosun.

In 2019, TV Chosun also reported that Kim Hyok Chol, North Korea’s nuclear envoy to the U.S., had been executed for failing to secure a summit between Mr. Kim and then-President Donald Trump.

However, it was later revealed by CNN that Kim Hyok Chol was alive.

North Korea has a history of public executions, with an average of 10 occurring annually before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to South Korea’s Korea Times.

The number has reportedly increased to over 100 annually, attributed to North Korea’s unstable economy, international sanctions, and the impact of natural disasters, according to Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

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