SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un severely rebuked his premier and other senior officials over their “irresponsible” response to recent flooding that inundated farmlands, state media reported Tuesday.
Kim on Monday visited a western coastal tideland, where seawater recently destroyed the embankment, flooding more than 270 hectares of rice paddies. After inspecting the situation, Kim accused officials of “very irresponsible neglect of duties,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency. “In recent years the administrative and economic discipline of the Kim Tok Hun Cabinet has got out of order more seriously and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the state economic work with the irresponsible work manner,” Kim Jong Un said, according to KCNA.
North Korea watchers say Kim Jong Un’s moves are unusually strong given there were no reports of human casualties. They say Kim could use the flooding as a chance to reshuffle top officials in a bid to reinforce public confidence in his government, as he’s struggling to revive an economy reeling from COVID-19.