Official media reported today, Sunday, that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilized the army for relief operations in areas recently struck by heavy rainfall amid concerns about an economic crisis and food shortages. The Korean Central News Agency noted that the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party held a meeting in its branch in South Hamgyong Province, eastern North Korea, to discuss the damages and recovery from the rainfall.
The agency stated that Kim did not attend the meeting, but party officials conveyed his message that the army should begin a relief campaign and provide necessary supplies in the region. The Korean News Agency did not specify the extent of the damage caused by the rains, but it reported that the military commission discussed taking emergency measures to rebuild the affected areas, stabilize people’s lives, prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and reduce crop damage.
The meeting took place amid concerns of a crisis in an isolated economy already plagued by international sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear programs. In June, Kim stated that the country faces a difficult food situation, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and last year's typhoons. The Bank of Korea recently reported that North Korea experienced its largest economic contraction in 23 years in 2020.
