Floods happened long ago... Recovery still slow
Kim Jong-un urges speeding up housing construction... Soothing local sentiment
Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, once again visited flood-affected areas, portraying himself as a 'leader who cares for the people.' This move is interpreted as an effort to prevent public discontent amid slow recovery due to poor infrastructure.
According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 30th, Chairman Kim visited flood-damaged areas in North Pyongan Province the previous day along with Party Secretaries Jo Yong Won and Ri Il Hwan, and Kim Yong Bok, Vice Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army. He supervised the reconstruction projects on site and urged, "Complete the construction of residential houses at the highest standard within the shortest possible time."
North Korea's Kim Jong-un Provides On-site Guidance for Flood Damage Restoration and Construction Projects in North Pyongan Province [Image Source=Yonhap News]
This is the third time that Chairman Kim's visit to flood sites has been publicly disclosed, following visits on July 28 and August 8-9. It means he has been visiting flood-affected areas about once a month.
During this visit as well, he focused on portraying himself as a 'leader who cares for the people.' Chairman Kim emphasized that "quickly alleviating the suffering of flood victims and restoring production and living order in the affected areas to normal levels is the most urgent task facing our Party and government at this time," stressing that the 'reconstruction project' is a critically important process that goes beyond mere natural disaster recovery and realizes the Party's regional development guidelines.
He especially praised and encouraged the soldiers and youth shock brigade members deployed at the residential construction sites in the flood-affected areas as 'vanguard fighters.' This also revealed the mobilization of soldiers in various labor sites.
This summer, North Korea experienced large-scale flooding in the Yalu River basin, causing significant damage in North Pyongan and Jagang provinces. Chairman Kim has been dedicating full efforts to flood recovery for two months, including bringing residents from the affected areas to live in Pyongyang, but the restoration has not yet been completed.
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