Kim Jong Un orders relief for flood-hit regions in North Korea. Will he accept aid from South Korea?

The recent heavy rains in northwestern North Korea flooded thousands of houses and a vast extent of farmland leaving many residents homeless and living in makeshift tents, reported North Korea’s state media July 31.

North Korea earlier said more than 5,000 people stranded in Sinuiju city and Uiju town were rescued by airlift and other evacuation work after the July 27 rains caused a river on the Chinese border to swell. But it hadn’t mentioned any specific damage, or said if there were any casualties.

North Korea is prone to flooding from heavy summer rains because of poor drainage, deforestation, and dilapidated infrastructure.

The official Korean Central News Agency said July 31 that about 4,100 houses, 3,000 hectares (about 7,410 acres) of agricultural fields, and numerous public buildings, roads, and railways in Sinuiju and Uiju were flooded.

It said about 150 people in nearby Jagang province had also been isolated due to a separate river flooding there, but they were all evacuated to safety by military helicopters.

In an emergency Politiburo meeting presided in Sinuiju, leader Kim Jong Un asked authorities to “strictly punish” those who he said neglected their responsibilities for disaster prevention and caused “even the casualty that can not be allowed,” according to KCNA.

The report didn’t say whether “the casualty” involved just a single person, as it was written literally, or multiple people. It also didn’t say whether any deaths have been reported.

KCNA said Politburo members later approved the appointments of new Workers’ Party secretaries in the flood-hit regions and a new public security minister. Earlier, Mr. Kim said North Korea’s emergency response agency and the Ministry of Public Security didn’t know the exact populations of the flood-battered areas, so the number of people rescued was much larger than expected.

In the Politiburo meeting, officials decided to build 4,400 new houses and strengthen embankments in Sinuiju and Uiju and restore damaged facilities in Jagang province, KCNA said.

Mr. Kim ordered urgent steps to supply flood victims with materials stockpiled for disaster relief and asked Politburo members to visit displaced people living in tents to console them and observe their living conditions, KCNA said.

On Aug. 1, South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said the South was willing to swiftly provide supplies to address the “humanitarian difficulties” facing North Korean residents following the storms. The ministry in a statement urged North Korea’s Red Cross to promptly respond to its calls for discussions to determine the types and amounts of South Korean supplies and how to deliver them.

North Korea didn’t immediately respond to the South’s offer and it’s unclear whether they will accept the proposal. Animosity between the war-divided rivals is at its highest in years over the North’s growing nuclear ambitions and the South’s expansion of combined military exercises with the United States and Japan.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.