North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of up to 30 officials, as per a South Korean media report. They will be executed for failing to prevent the deaths of over a thousand people in recent flooding, the report claimed.
“Around 20 to 30 leaders were charged with corruption and dereliction of duty. They have been sentenced to capital punishment,” TV Chosun reported, quoting a North Korean official.
Heavy rain and subsequent landslides struck North Korea’s Chagang Province recently. This caused several deaths, injuries, and displaced over 15,000 people.
Kim Jong Un himself visited the affected areas. He stated that it would take several months to rebuild and restore the neighbourhoods that were completely flooded. His government also provided shelter in Pyongyang for over 15000 people. This included vulnerable groups such as mothers, children, the elderly, and disabled soldiers.
South Korean channel TV Chosun reported that around 20 to 30 officials from the flood-affected area were executed simultaneously late last month.
These claims have not been confirmed yet.
However, North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong Un ordered authorities to “strictly punish” officials following the devastating floods that struck Chagang Province in July.
The government officials who were executed were not identified. However, as per KCNA, Kang Bong-hoon, secretary of the Chagang Province Provincial Party Committee since 2019, was among the leaders dismissed by Kim.
Kang also served as a former deputy director of the Munitions Industry Department. He was known to have accompanied Kim Jong-un during on-site inspections, the report claimed.
North Korean state media reported that the heavy rain flooded 4,100 houses. Over 7,000 acres of agricultural land, and public property was damaged in the northwestern city of Sinuiju and the neighbouring Uiju.
