SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday that 15 people were missing in the northern city of Hoeryong and thousands were left homeless by flooding caused by heavy rain in recent days.

The official KCNA news agency said flooding of the Tumen river, which forms a border with China, had damaged or destroyed 17,180 houses, and 44,000 people were left homeless in North Hamgyong province.

Widespread deforestation makes North Korea prone to flooding.</s>Flooding caused by torrential rains hit North Korea this week, leaving 15 people missing and thousands of others homeless, according to Pyongyang's state media.

The Tumen River, which serves as part of the border between China, Russia and North Korea, burst its banks in "the worst-ever flood" in the area, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said late Friday.

In the northeastern province of North Hamgyong, 15 people were missing in Hoeryong City and several counties including Musan, Yonsa and Onsong and part of the Rason special economic zone also suffered "serious damage".

More than 17,000 houses were destroyed or partly damaged, forcing 44,000 people to seek shelter elsewhere, KCNA said.

North Hamgyong Province received up to 32 centimetres (12 and a half inches) of rain between early Tuesday and mid-Friday, it said.

"Relentless campaigns are under way to stabilize people's livelihood and restore damaged properties", it said, adding that further assessments of the damage would continue.

North Korea is known for being vulnerable to natural disasters, especially floods.

Its territory is largely composed of mountains and hills that have long been deforested for fuel or turned into terraced rice fields, allowing rainwater to flow downhill unchecked, washing away top soil from agricultural fields.

A series of floods and droughts sparked a famine between 1994 and 1998 in the impoverished state, with economic mismanagement coupled with the loss of Soviet support exacerbating the situation.</s>Weapons were paraded through Pyongyang as a clear signal to the rest of the world that North Korea has military might.

Farm manager Kim Myong Jon is something of a national celebrity in North Korea. During the past 40 years, she's met with three of the country's leaders.

The farm is home to one of North Korea's first greenhouses. It was first visited by Kim Il Sung more than three decades ago, and more recently by his grandson, current leader Kim Jong Un.

Chili peppers lie in the sun at the Jang Chon farm. It's used for making kimchi, the fermented cabbage dish that is a staple of the North Korean diet.

Two officials walk in the grounds of the space facility. While there, NADA officials told CNN they had prepared multiple satellites and were in the "final stages of perfecting all operations."

In May 2015, CNN was given rare access to a faculty apartment in an upscale area of Pyongyang, near Kim Il Sung University. The lounge was neat, if a little dated.

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Every home in North Korea displays portraits of late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Housing is assigned by the government and is free. Those who want to move have to sign up to exchange spaces with other citizens.

First graders in a Pyongyang classroom are orderly yet energetic, often standing and giving spirited answers to their teacher's questions, May 7, 2015. Photo by CNN's Will Ripley.

Young boys practice a drum routine that they will perform during International Children's Day in June.

Toy rocket launchers, similar to those displayed in North Korean military parades, are on the shelves for children to play with.

The view from the North Korean side of the DMZ, with armed DPRK soldiers standing guard.

North Korea displays the armistice agreement that ended the brutal fighting of the Korean War in 1953.

Junior Lt. Colonel Nam Dong Ho is part of North Korea's standing army of more than one million.

Two women share a bicycle as they head south on a highway leading from Pyongyang to the DMZ, May 2015.

Pyongyang women wear their Sunday best, and carry ornate umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun.

Twin statues honor the late leaders of North Korea Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Visitors are routinely taken here to pay their respects and lay flowers at the statue. Photo taken May 2, 2015.

Kim Jong Un personally inspected the plans for this new water park 113 times and had his top officials safety test the water slides. Guests frolic in the park in this photo taken in May 2015.

The Pyongyang Gold Lane, a bowling alley in the North Korean capital, is popular among young people.

Pyongyang Airport is the first stop on tours of North Korea. Air Koryo is the national airline, which operates direct flights from Beijing and Shenyang in China, and Vladivostok in Russia.

Air Koryo has an aging fleet, although it has purchased some newer aircraft in recent years.
North Korea says that at least fifteen people are missing and thousands left homeless in the city of Hoeryong after the Tumen River floods.