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North Korea has decided to severely punish local officials accused of failing to protect the population during the passage of Typhoon Maysak, which triggered a “serious incident”, killing dozens, ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on Saturday. reported AFP and Reuters.
Typhoon Maysak crossed the Korean Peninsula earlier this week and brought torrential rains. Images broadcast on North Korean television showed a flooded street in the port of Wonsan, Kangwon province (east).
On Saturday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that North Korean leaders decide to sanction municipal and provincial officials accused of being “irresponsible” and causing “a serious incident that claimed dozens of lives.”.
The newspaper did not specify how many people lost their lives, were injured or were reported missing.
According to the publication, local officials did not identify the “risk properties” in time and did not “evacuate all residents” despite orders from the ruling Workers’ Party, led by Kim Jong Un.
“The decision has been made to impose severe administrative and legal penalties against those responsible for these victims ”, adds the newspaper, writes Agerpres.
Typhoon Maysak has killed at least two people in South Korea and more than 2,200 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters in the southern city of Busan.
Sanctioning local officials is “a way for North Korean leaders to avoid being blamed” for the victims, Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean who defected to South Korea and became an investigator in Seoul, told AFP.
“They send the message that Kim Jong Un never makes mistakes and that damage occurs when those who work for him do not follow his orders,” he added.
