North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called on the military to carry out relief work in areas recently hit by heavy rains, according to state media reports.
More than 1,000 homes were damaged and about 5,000 people evacuated after the ensuing flooding, state television reported earlier this week.
Footage from the state-run KCTV showed homes flooded up to their roofs, as well as damaged bridges and railroads in the eastern province of South Hamgyong. It also said about 17km of roads and bridges had been damaged.
The report said “hundreds of hectares of farmland” were also submerged or lost as river levees collapsed, AFP news agency reports.
The move comes amid concerns over an economic crisis and food shortages. Agricultural land has been damaged, and Kim Jong-un said in June the country faced a “tense” food situation.
He said at the time the agricultural sector had failed to meet its grain targets due to typhoons last year, which caused flooding, and that much would depend on this year’s harvest.
With the soil already saturated, further rains could cause more damage with heavy rain forecast until 10 August, with eastern areas expected to be particularly hit, according to the country’s meteorological agency.
North Korea is struggling under international sanctions, imposed because of its nuclear programme.
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