(ATTN: RECASTS headline; UPDATES with more details throughout)
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has condemned South Korean media outlets for “fabricating” the scale of damage from recent floods in his country, state media reported Saturday, in his first public reaction to the South over the downpours.
In a sharp-tongued message, Kim called South Korea an “unchangeable enemy,” but made no response to Seoul’s latest offer of humanitarian aid over the flood damage.
The North’s border city of Sinuiju and Uiju County in North Phyongan Province were recently pummeled by heavy rains. South Korean outlets have reported that the number of those who died or went missing could exceed about 1,000.
This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 3, 2024, shows the North’s leader Kim Jong-un speaking during a visit to a helicopter unit dispatched to rescue isolated residents in flood-hit areas bordering China. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Kim accused of South Korea having a “wicked” purpose to tarnish North Korea’s image, and staging a slanderous propaganda campaign against his country, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“The enemy’s garbage media speculated that casualties in the affected areas would exceed 1,000 or 1,500 and has been spreading fabricated news reports that several helicopters on a rescue mission appear to have fallen,” Kim was quoted as saying by the report. “The enemy is an unchangeable enemy.”
His message came when Kim visited a helicopter unit engaged in a rescue operation on Friday to encourage troops for their contribution.
Kim’s hostile stance against Seoul raised the possibility that Pyongyang is unlikely to accept South Korea’s proposal for aid. On Thursday, the government proposed humanitarian aid to North Korea over the flood damage, saying that it expects North Korea’s swift reaction.
North Korea has not responded through an inter-Korean liaison communication channel since then.
At a year-end party meeting last year, Kim defined inter-Korean ties as those “between two states hostile to each other,” and said there is no point of seeking reconciliation and unification with South Korea.
This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on July 31, 2024, shows the North’s leader Kim Jong-un (L) aboard a boat to inspect flood-hit areas in North Korea’s border city of Sinuiju. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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