North Korea’s Kim pays 4th visit to flood-hit province

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid a fourth trip to inspect recovery efforts in flood-hit northwestern parts of the country, state media reported on Tuesday.

Kim inspected the reconstruction in flood-hit areas in North Phyongan province on Monday.

Besides provincial party chief Ri Hi Yong, Kim was accompanied by commanding officers of the Korean People's Army units as well as Paektusan Hero Youth Shock Brigade who are involved in the reconstruction.

Kim had assigned the Shock Brigade to undertake rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in Sinuiju city and Uiju county of the province.

The Shock Brigade are vanguard members of the Kim-led Workers Party of Korea who were deployed in August to the floods-hit region.

Since July, North Korea has been hit by heavy rains, leading to widespread flooding in its northern and central regions. The flooding has displaced thousands of people, prompting Kim's government to deploy hundreds of volunteers to aid in rescue and recovery operations.

With an aim to turn the region into a “modern rural city,” Kim called for bringing about “good fruition” of the planned projects.

Urging “greater innovations” in the coming weeks, Kim directed the officials to take “some state measures to successfully finish the projects… before the December Party plenary.”