North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has dismissed the public security minister and chiefs of provincial committees to hold them responsible for severe damage from the recent downpours in the northern border areas along the Amnok River.

The decision was made at an emergency enlarged politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) held in the border city of Sinuiju in North Phyongan Province on Monday and Tuesday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Wednesday.

Kim visited flood-hit areas in Sinuiju and Uiju County of the province on Sunday and guided an operation to rescue around 5,000 isolated residents with the military’s helicopters.

During Tuesday’s meeting, North Korea appointed Pang Tu-sop, first vice director of the WPK’s political leadership department over military affairs, as the public security minister. Minister Ri Thae-sop is presumed to be sacked.

It also replaced chief secretaries of the North Phyongan and Jagang provincial committees.

At Monday’s gathering, Kim “propos
ed to strictly punish those who severely neglected their responsible duties assigned by the Party and the state and thus caused even the casualty that can not be allowed,” the KCNA said.

The report said public buildings, facilities, roads and railways, including more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmlands, were flooded due to the heavy rains in Sinuiju and Uiju County.

But the North’s state media did not reveal details about casualties from the latest downpours. Seoul’s unification ministry said Tuesday that the country appears to have sustained “considerable” damage, citing the North’s media report on the need to restore electricity and communication lines, as well as supply medicine.

Source: Yonhap News Agency