North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during a visit to a helicopter unit dispatched to rescue isolated esidents in flood-hit areas bordering China, in this photo carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, 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.
In a sharp-tongued message, Kim called South Korea an “unchangeable enemy” but made no response to Seoul’s latest offer of humanitarian aid to al with the flood damage.
The North’s border city of Sinuiju and Uiju County in North Pyongan Province were recently pummeled by heavy rain. South Korean media outlets have reported that the number of those who died or went missing could exceed 1,000.
Kim accused South Korea of 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 as Kim visited a helicopter unit engaged in rescue operations 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 proposed aid. On Thursday, the government here proposed humanitarian aid for North Korea to cope with the flood damage, saying that it expected North Korea’s swift response.
Pyongyang has not responded through an inter-Korean liaison communication channel since then.
Kim observed an operation last Sunday to rescue around 5,000 isolated residents in the flood-hit areas of Sinuiju and Uiju County. North Korea has said the downpours left more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmlands submerged. But it did not disclose details about casualties.
The North convened an emergency politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea earlier this week to discuss ways to cope with the flood damage.
At a year-end party meeting in 2023, Kim defined inter-Korean ties as those “between two states hostile to each other,” and said there was no point in seeking reconciliation and unification with South Korea. (Yonhap)
