North Korea is mobilizing to deal with a disastrous flood that killed more than 130 people, destroyed tens of thousands of homes and crippled infrastructure in its northern-most province.

Brigades of soldiers from around the country have been enlisted to help victims of the flooding, which began Aug. 29 and was caused by Typhoon Lionrock.

According to a United Nations report issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the floods displaced tens of thousands of people and destroyed homes, buildings and critical infrastructure. North Korean media said it was the worst single case of downpours and high winds since 1945, though that claim couldn't be verified.

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The report said the government has confirmed 133 people were killed and an additional 395 missing. It said more than 35,500 houses, schools and public buildings were damaged, with 69% completely destroyed. It reported widespread inundation of farmland and at least 140,000 people in urgent need of assistance.

The hardest-hit areas, parts of which remain inaccessible, are Musan and Yonsa counties near the Chinese border in the northern tip of the country.

North Korea's state media reported Sunday that high winds and heavy rainfall swept over several cities and counties, causing buildings to collapse and leaving railways, roads, parts of the electric power system, factories and farmlands destroyed or submerged.

It said a mass recovery effort has been launched.

On Monday, North Korea reported construction units were arriving in the flood-hit areas from all over the country, including the capital, Pyongyang.

"The country's manpower and material and technical potentials are now concentrated on the flood damage rehabilitation," the Korean Central News Agency said. It said the ruling party has urged citizens to "achieve the miraculous victory of converting misfortune into favorable conditions ... with the tremendous might of single-minded unity!"

The North Korean media also said the focus of a 200-day "loyalty campaign" already underway to mobilize the nation behind leader Kim Jong Un in a mandatory show of devotion has been switched to a call for all citizens to support the recovery effort.

The U.N. agency said humanitarian agencies have released relief materials from their stockpiles inside North Korea, including food, shelter and kitchen kits, water purification and sanitation supplies and emergency health supplies.

The U.N. report said the government is "urgently working" to reopen roads, distributing relief goods and preparing to rebuild 20,000 houses by early October, before the onset of North Korea's bitterly cold winter.

It added that the government had allowed U.N. agencies, the North Korean Red Cross and International Federation of the Red Crescent, along with private international aid groups to conduct a joint assessment of needs in the affected areas last week, but they were unable to access Musan and Yonsa.

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The flooding occurred around the Tumen River, which runs between North Korea and China.

North Korea experiences frequent natural disasters, which are more devastating because of its often problematic infrastructure and lack of civil engineering projects designed to mitigate damage.

In August last year, major downpours followed by flash floods killed at least 40 people and devastated parts of the Rason area, near the Russian and Chinese borders where a key special economic zone is.

A series of floods and droughts were a contributing factor in the disastrous famine years of the 1990s — called the "arduous march" in North Korea — that nearly brought the country to economic ruin.

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U.S. slams Netanyahu after he equates opposition to Israeli settlements with 'ethnic cleansing'</s>Tens of thousands of homes damaged, infrastructure crippled in its northern-most province

North Korea is mobilizing to deal with a disastrous flood that killed more than 130 people, destroyed tens of thousands of homes and crippled infrastructure in its northern-most province.

Brigades of soldiers from around the country have been enlisted to help victims of the flooding, which began August 29 and was caused by Typhoon Lionrock.

According to a United Nations report issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the floods displaced tens of thousands of people and destroyed homes, buildings and critical infrastructure. North Korean media said it was the worst single case of downpours and high winds since 1945, though that claim couldn’t be verified.

The report said the government has confirmed 133 people were killed and another 395 missing. It said more than 35,500 houses, schools and public buildings were damaged, with 69 per cent completely destroyed. It reported widespread inundation of farmland and at least 140,000 people in urgent need of assistance.

The hardest-hit areas, parts of which remain inaccessible, are Musan and Yonsa counties near the Chinese border in the northern tip of the country.

North Korea’s state media reported Sunday that high winds and heavy rainfall swept over several cities and counties, causing buildings to collapse and leaving railways, roads, parts of the electric power system, factories and farmlands destroyed or submerged. It said a mass recovery effort has been launched.

On Monday, North Korea reported construction units were arriving in the flood-hit areas from all over the country, including the capital, Pyongyang.

“The country’s manpower and material and technical potentials are now concentrated on the flood damage rehabilitation,” the Korean Central News Agency said. It said the ruling party has urged citizens to “achieve the miraculous victory of converting misfortune into favorable conditions ... with the tremendous might of single-minded unity!”

The North Korean media also said the focus of a 200-day “loyalty campaign” already underway to mobilize the nation behind leader Kim Jong Un in a mandatory show of devotion has been switched to a call for all citizens to support the recovery effort.

The U.N. agency said humanitarian agencies have released relief materials from their stockpiles inside North Korea, including food, shelter and kitchen kits, water purification and sanitation supplies and emergency health supplies.

The U.N. report said the government "is urgently working” to reopen roads, distributing relief goods and preparing to rebuild 20,000 houses by early October, before the onset of North Korea’s bitterly cold winter.

It added that the government had allowed U.N. agencies, the North Korean Red Cross and International Federation of the Red Crescent, along with private international aid groups to conduct a joint assessment of needs in the affected areas last week, but they were unable to access Musan and Yonsa.

The flooding occurred around the Tumen River, which runs between North Korea and China.

North Korea experiences frequent natural disasters which are more devastating because of its often problematic infrastructure and lack of civil engineering projects designed to mitigate damage.

In August last year, major downpours followed by flash floods killed at least 40 people and devastated parts of the Rason area, near the Russian and Chinese borders where a key special economic zone is located.

A series of floods and droughts was a contributing factor in the disastrous famine years of the 1990s called the “arduous march” in North Korea that nearly brought the country to economic ruin.</s>SEOUL (AFP) - The death toll from severe flooding in the north-east of North Korea has risen to 133, with another 395 missing and tens of thousands left homeless, the United Nations said.

Some 107,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the area along the Tumen River, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement received on Monday (Sept 12), citing Pyongyang government figures.

People in the north-eastern region near the border with China and Russia are suffering "great hardship", according to North Korean state media.

A nationwide mass-mobilisation 200-day labour campaign intended to bolster the economy has been redirected to assist the flood victims.

More than 35,500 houses have been hit by floods, with 69 percent of them completely destroyed, and 8,700 public buildings have been damaged, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement dated Sunday.

Around 16,000ha of farmland have been inundated and at least 140,000 people urgently need help, it said.

OCHA said a group made up of UN agencies, international non-governmental organisations, the international Red Cross and the North's Red Cross had visited parts of the flood-stricken region last week to assess needs.

It said aid agencies have released material from stockpiles in the North such as food, shelter and kitchen kits and water purification and health supplies.

The North's government was working urgently to reopen roads and was distributing relief goods and building materials. The priority was to rebuild 20,000 homes by early October before the bitter Korean winter sets in.

The North has trumpeted the role of its ruling Workers' Party in responding to the disaster in North Hamgyong province.

The aim is "to turn the area into the fairyland in the era of the Workers' Party within this year by dint of army-people great unity, harmonious whole", said party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Monday.

"The party regards the work for taking care of the people's life in a responsible way as the most important affair and duty and has steadily created legendary stories about love for the people," it added.

Impoverished North Korea is vulnerable to natural disasters, especially floods. At least 169 people were killed by a massive rainstorm in the summer of 2012.

Its territory is largely composed of mountains and hills that have long been stripped bare for fuel or turned into terraced rice fields. This allows rainwater to flow downhill unchecked.

A series of floods and droughts was partially responsible for a famine that killed hundreds of thousands between 1994 and 1998, with economic mismanagement and the loss of Soviet support exacerbating the situation.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in April that North Korea's chronic food shortages were expected to worsen, given the tight food supplies last year and this year when "most households were already estimated to have poor or borderline food consumption levels".

The United Nations Security Council is planning fresh sanctions on the nation after it staged its fifth nuclear weapons test on Friday.</s>SEOUL, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Flooding from heavy rain in North Korea has killed 133 people in its northeast while 395 are missing, with many homes and critical infrastructure destroyed, a U.N. agency said on Monday.

News of the natural disaster came as North Korea looked even more isolated from its neighbours and the wider world after its fifth nuclear test last Friday.

The U.N. Office for the Coordinate of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report more than 35,500 homes were damaged, two-thirds of them completely destroyed, and 107,000 people had been displaced by the floods.

The agency said the death toll and the number of missing people were based on North Korean government data.

North Korea's state media reported heavy rain in late August and early September caused extensive damage near the Tumen river. It did not give a death toll from the flooding in its latest report.

The U.N. office said damage assessment was based on a visit to the region last week by representatives of U.N. agencies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the North's Red Cross chapter and non-governmental groups.

The North's KCNA news agency said on Sunday the worst "climatic phenomenon" in more than 70 years hit the northern part of the country causing "huge losses," and recovery work was under way.

Widespread deforestation for fuel and farming makes the impoverished state prone to natural disasters, especially floods.</s>SEOUL: Severe flooding in a North Korean border region has killed at least 133 people with another 395 missing and thousands of homes swept away, the UN says, after Pyongyang reported “great hardship” in the area.

Some 107,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the area along the Tumen River, the world body said in a statement received Monday which cited Pyongyang government figures.

The North’s official media has described the downpour which led to the floods near the northeastern border as the worst for decades, and said it brought severe hardship to residents.

It says a nationwide mass-mobilisation 200-day labour campaign intended to bolster the economy has been redirected to assist the flood victims.

The impoverished nation is vulnerable to natural disasters, especially floods, due partly to deforestation and poor infrastructure.

At least 169 people were killed by a massive rainstorm in the summer of 2012.</s>SEOUL: Floods have damaged tens of thousands of buildings in northeastern North Korea after the worst downpour there for decades, state media said Sunday, urging all soldiers and civilians to join a drive to help victims.

The report on the official KCNA news agency gave no death toll or exact figure for damage.

A UN report last week, citing Pyongyang government data, said 60 people had been killed and over 44,000 were homeless along the Tumen River, which partially marks the border with China and Russia.

Sunday’s report, citing the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, said “tens of thousands” of homes and public buildings had collapsed and railways, roads, power supplies, factories and farmland had been destroyed or submerged.

People in North Hamgyong province were suffering “great hardship”, it added.

The main thrust of an ongoing nationwide 200-day mass mobilisation campaign aimed at boosting the economy would be redirected to helping flood victims, it quoted the central committee as saying.

The objective was to “direct all efforts to the construction of dwelling houses to provide flood-hit people with warm cradles and turn the flood-battered region into a fairyland in the era of the Workers’ Party within this year.”

Impoverished North Korea is vulnerable to natural disasters, especially floods. At least 169 were killed by a massive rainstorm in the summer of 2012.

Its territory is largely composed of mountains and hills that have long been stripped bare for fuel or turned into terraced rice fields. This allows rainwater to flow downhill unchecked.

A series of floods and droughts was partially responsible for a famine that killed hundreds of thousands between 1994-98, with economic mismanagement and the loss of Soviet support exacerbating the situation.

The United Nations Security Council is planning fresh sanctions on the nation after it staged its fifth nuclear weapons test Friday.</s>Yet severe flooding in the country's northeast has resulted in a rare admission that all is not so well.

According to a report published Sunday by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) -- North Korea's official state media -- the country's northeast has been affected by the "heaviest downpour" since 1945, with "tens of thousands" of buildings destroyed and people left homeless and "suffering from great hardship."

Citing North Korean government data, the report described how heavy rains resulting from Typhoon Lionrock had triggered flooding in areas such as Musan and Yonsa counties and Hoeryong City in North Hamgyong province. So far, 133 people have been killed, 395 people are missing and 140,000 people are in "urgent need of assistance."</s>Folks, happenings in the Korean Peninsula are frightening. No one who knows what is building up will underrate those happenings as potential sources of a catastrophe that will put the world on edge.

Those familiar with the three-year fratricidal war between North Korea and South Korea and the influence of the international community, especially the United States in halting the hostilities in 1953 with an ARMISTICE and not a Peace Treaty with stated conditions to be complied with will not go fart in search for answers to questions arising from the bad-blood relationship between the two Koreas ever since.

History tells us much about why North Korea has been what it chose for itself ever since its founder (Kim il-Sung (the Dear Leader), followed by his son, Kim Jong-il) took it along the path of communism, establishing a dynasty that now has Kim Jong-un in power. Traditionally, North Korea has enjoyed some kind of sympathy from China, even if latter-day happenings suggest that China is hesitant in fully backing it.

Because of its intransigence, North Korea has been hit by sanctions imposed by its corps of haters, led by the United States. The United Nations has also imposed severe sanctions on it, especially following its pursuit of nuclear power. The politics surrounding the sanctions and all that has happened for the West to back down are known. So also is the pariah status of North Korea.

Interestingly, North Korea has stood its grounds despite all the severe sanctions and isolation, doing what has shocked the world. It has tested missiles developed at home and done many more to threaten its neighbour. It has protested against the annual joint military exercises between its adversaries (South Korea and the US) and has even gone ahead to fire missiles at South Korean territories. Nothing has deterred it so far from asserting its influence.

Just last Friday, it carried out a nuclear test that has now stoked the fire that threatens not only the Korean peninsula but the entire world as such. In fact, the test has registered a strong and scary impact. It said that Friday’s test had been of a “nuclear warhead that has been standardised to be able to be mounted on strategic ballistic rockets”.

In reaction, South Korea says that it has “a plan to annihilate the North Korean capital if it shows any signs of mounting a nuclear attack”. As the BBC reported, “A military source told the Yonhap news agency that every part of Pyongyang “will be completely destroyed by ballistic missiles and high-explosives shells”. (See http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37331852).

The stage seems to be set for the escalation of tension in the Korean Peninsula. Does that matter to other parts of the world? Yes, clearly because of the “nuclear” element. Those familiar with the devastating effect of anything “nuclear” know what is at stake.

Long ago, I got to know that the release of one nuclear warhead into the atmosphere will reduce the world to a perpetual winter of darkness. Total annihilation of life!!

Why is North Korea so adamant in having its way? And why is South Korea also gearing up to reduce Pyongyang to ashes as if the Korean crisis is limited to that peninsula alone?

Intriguingly, South Korea has been heavily supported by the US and its allies. Why is it that the Korean crisis isn’t being solved with the seriousness that it deserves? What is the UN doing?

I daresay that the escalation in the tests being conducted by North Korea and the rhetoric emanating from its opponents are scary, which suggests that Ban Ki-Moon (a South Korean) and his UN must sit up to prevent anything catastrophic). Can they?

Those of us in Africa and other parts of the world not directly connected to the Korean crisis need the peace of mind to live our lives on earth. We already have a lot to worry about, especially when it comes to food, shelter, and clothing. We have no interest in the South-North Korea peril; but we can’t live in isolation from happenings in other parts of the world, especially when such happenings threaten human existence.

Will Ban Ki-Moon and his UN act expeditiously to stem the tide or wait for the situation to get out of hand before taking desperate measures to douse the fire? Happenings in many parts of the world (Libya, Syria, etc.) tell us that there is too much already to worry about. Why should the Korean crisis be added to them?
• Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor to continue the conversation.</s>North Korea has completed preparations for another nuclear test, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday, citing South Korean government sources who said the North may use a previously unused tunnel at its mountainous test site.

Pyongyang on Friday set off its most powerful nuclear blast to date, saying it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile and ratcheting up a threat that its rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain.

"Indications have been gathered that the North has completed preparations to conduct a nuclear test at any time in the third tunnel that has not been used previously," Yonhap quoted one of the government sources as saying.

It did not elaborate on what activities had been detected at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site near the North's northeastern shore, the location of its five nuclear explosions.

North Korea said on Sunday a push for further sanctions following its latest nuclear test was "laughable", and vowed to continue to strengthen its nuclear power.

A US special envoy for the isolated state, Sung Kim, will travel to Seoul on Monday after discussing with Japanese officials in Tokyo cooperation among neighbouring countries in the wake of the North's nuclear test.

Kim met with Japanese officials on Sunday and said the United States may launch unilateral sanctions against North Korea, echoing comments by US President Barack Obama on Friday in the wake of the test.

South Korea said on Saturday that the latest test showed North Korea's nuclear capability was expanding fast and that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was unwilling to alter course.

South Korea's military put the force of Friday's blast at 10 kilotonnes, which would be the North's most powerful blast to date, but a US expert said the highest estimates of seismic magnitude suggested a yield of 20 to 30 kilotonnes.

The U.N. Security Council denounced North Korea's decision to carry out the test and said it would begin work immediately on a resolution. The United States, Britain and France pushed for the 15-member body to impose new sanctions.</s>North Korea said on Sunday a push for further sanctions following its fifth and biggest nuclear test was “laughable”, and vowed to continue to strengthen its nuclear power.

The isolated state on Friday set off its most powerful nuclear explosion to date, saying it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat that its rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain.

A U.S. special envoy met with Japanese officials on Sunday and said later the United States may launch unilateral sanctions against North Korea, echoing comments by U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday in the wake of the test.

“The group of Obama’s running around and talking about meaningless sanctions until today is highly laughable, when their ‘strategic patience’ policy is completely worn out and they are close to packing up to move out,” state-run KCNA news agency cited a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman as saying in a statement later on Sunday.

“As we’ve made clear, measures to strengthen the national nuclear power in quality and quantity will continue to protect our dignity and right to live from augmented threats of nuclear war from the United States,” KCNA added.

Earlier, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported South Korea’s military had a plan to use its missiles to “decimate” areas of Pyongyang if there were signs the North was about to launch a nuclear attack, quoting a source in the military.

The South’s Defence Ministry could not immediately confirm the report, but the military has vowed to take strong actions to retaliate in the event of an attack by the North. The North has yet to demonstrate that it had deployed nuclear-capable missiles, despite claims to have mastered the technology to miniaturise a nuclear warhead to mount it on ballistic missiles. The U.N. Security Council denounced North Korea’s decision to carry out the test and said it would begin work immediately on a resolution. The United States, Britain and France pushed for the 15-member body to impose new sanctions. Obama said after speaking by telephone with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday that they had agreed to work with the Security Council and other powers to vigorously enforce existing measures and to take “additional significant steps, including new sanctions”. “We will be working very closely in the Security Council and beyond to come up with the strongest possible measure against North Korea’s latest actions,” said U.S. envoy Sung Kim on Sunday. “In addition to action in the Security Council, both the U.S. and Japan, together with the Republic of Korea, will be looking at unilateral measures, as well as bilateral measures, as well as possible trilateral cooperation,” he said, referring to South Korea by its official name. South Korea’s top nuclear envoy also spoke to his Chinese counterpart late on Saturday by telephone and emphasized the need for fresh countermeasures including a new U.N. security council resolution during their call, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement. South Korea said on Saturday that the latest test showed North Korea’s nuclear capability was expanding fast and that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was unwilling to alter course. Another KCNA report on Sunday said North Koreans were “delighted” by the nuclear test. “The enemies can no longer deny the strategic position of our country as a nuclear weapons state,” Jong Won Sop, a teacher at the University of National Economy, was quoted as saying.
The United Nations estimates that the death toll from severe flooding in North Korea reaches 133 with another 395 missing and tens of thousands homeless.