UN Aid Workers Assess North Korea's Flooded Regions
by VOA News July 31, 2012
A U.N. humanitarian agency says it has sent aid workers to two North Korean regions hit by severe floods to determine the need for relief supplies.
UNICEF spokesman Christopher de Bono said U.N. personnel based in North Korea left the capital, Pyongyang, on Tuesday to visit the flood-ravaged provinces of South Pyongan and Kangwon.
Week-long deluge
Heavy rains have triggered deadly floods across much of North Korea since July 25. State media last reported a death toll of 88 people on Saturday. There was no immediate word on casualties from downpours on Sunday and Monday.
North Korea said the floods also have left tens of thousands of people homeless and caused widespread damage to farmland. It has not made any formal requests for foreign assistance.
Government pledges reconstruction
In a report Tuesday, Pyongyang's official news agency KCNA said Premier Choe Yong Rim visited several hard-hit towns, consoling residents and promising government support for reconstruction. The report says the premier also called for planting more trees to prevent soil erosion. Many parts of North Korea have become prone to flooding because of deforestation.
A recent U.N. report said two-thirds of North Korea's 24 million people face chronic food shortages. Analysts say the latest flooding could make matters worse, since it came at the end of a drought.
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