15,400 flood victims moved to DPRK capital: KCNA
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Despite the international community offering support for the flood victims, Kim Jong-un states recovery efforts will be "based on self-reliance."
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DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and Premier Kim Tok Hun visit a flood-affected area near the border with China, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea, July 31, 2024. (KCNA)
The DPRK will move more than 15,000 flood victims to the country's capital following a record downpour that occurred in the nation's northern regions last week, state media reported on Saturday.
DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said during his visit to flood-hit Uiji on Friday that the government planned to house approximately 15,400 flood victims at facilities in Pyongyang until their destroyed homes are rebuilt, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
Kim said the accommodation plan for the victims, which will include the provision of food, medical treatment, and educational support for thousands of displaced students, will be "a top priority of the state."
South Korean media have reported that the death toll and number of missing persons in the DPRK might be as high as 1,500. However, Kim dismissed these claims on Friday, describing them as a "grave provocation" and "an insult to the flood-stricken people who are all safe and well."
Kim rejects international aid, declares 'self-reliance'
Following the disastrous flooding in the country's northern region, the international community began offering their aid and support to the DPRK.
Despite rising tensions, South Korea offered humanitarian aid through the Korean Red Cross. According to Seoul's Yonhap news agency, China and the United Nations Children's Fund also expressed their desire to help Pyongyang, which reported Russia offered a similar offer to its southern counterpart.
The DPRK leader expressed his "thanks to various foreign countries and international organizations for their offer of humanitarian support," but rejected their offers by stating the recovery efforts would be "thoroughly based on self-reliance", the KCNA reported on Friday.
300,000 people volunteer to help with flood aftermath in DPRK
According to Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, up to 300,000 people have reacted to the Workers' Party of Korea's (WPK) request for assistance in coping with the consequences of floods in northern North Korea.
In the past week, torrential rains in India and China have resulted in over 200 deaths, with an additional three fatalities reported in Pakistan. The DPRK, near the China border, has experienced widespread flooding, but there are no reports of casualties.
Kim was quoted as telling reporters on Tuesday by the KCNA that nearly 300,000 young people have volunteered to go to the areas of recovery from flood damage, "in less than a week after a decision was made by the Party to dispatch the Paektusan Hero Youth Shock Brigade to the housing construction in the flood-hit areas."
Kim extended greetings to parents of those who "sent their dear sons and daughters to the grand construction sites without hesitation" and thanked the DPRK's Socialist Patriotic Youth League, which had "inspired many young people to volunteer through an earnest appeal."
