(MENAFN- Asia Times)
North Korea has spent August coping with the aftermath of late-July flooding from heavy rains that destroyed river embankments as well as homes and other structures in the northern part of the country. The floods swept away uncounted numbers of people, many of whom are still missing.
Flooding is a perennial problem in the country and the Kim family Regime has had eight decades to devise effective ways of dealing with it. The regime has worked on changing the optics, but in substance, it appears that not a lot about its responses has changed. Third-generation leader Kim Jong Un keeps following his grandfather's and father's well-thumbed playbook.
In a series of articles published over the course of August by Osaka-based AsiaPress, the regime can be seen to have emphasized once again these playbook responses:
Mobilize the masses.
Rebuild with the same old shoddy construction.
Find scapegoats to blame and punish.
Turn disaster into Kim personality cult propaganda.
AsiaPress cited state media as having reported that
AsiaPress keeps in touch with“reporting partners” inside North Korea through Chinese cell phones smuggled into the country. Here is some flood reporting that quotes such a source.
A week into August, AsiaPress asked the Hyesan reporting partner what measures the authorities were taking and how the recovery efforts were going. She replied:
Homeless to Pyongyang
AsiaPress asked that reporting partner about Kim Jong Un's announcement that he would bring homeless flood victims to Pyongyang (excluding those whose loyalty to the regime is considered shaky) and about Kim's rejection of aid offers from South Korea, Russia and international organizations. She replied :
Later in August, the central apparatus saw that soliciting contributions from ordinary citizens would not suffice.“North Korean authorities have reportedly announced that 'flood victim support will be handled by the Workers' Party and the state,'” AsiaPress reported.“This appears to be the government's response to growing discontent among ordinary citizens who have been effectively forced to contribute supplies like clothing and bedding for victims.”
The outlet quoted another reporting partner, in North Hamgyong Province, as having provided this information on August 12:
The party organ Rodong Sinmun reported that some 13,000 flood victims arrived in Pyongyang on August 15.“When we asked our reporting partners living in the northern region, it became clear that there is significant dissatisfaction and backlash among residents, with many calling it an 'empty show,'” AsiaPress reported.
“On August 21, we asked reporting partner A, who lives in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province, if they were aware of the 'Pyongyang evacuation' of flood victims.” A's reply:
On August 15 when the flood victims arrived in Pyongyang, AsiaPress noted, Kim Jong Un encouraged them, saying,“All of you, who are present here, as precious members of our people, have remained faithful to our Party all your lives, working with devotion for the prosperity and development of our state; even when left homeless in the aftermath of an unexpected disaster, you treasured your trust in our party more than your personal property or houses that had been lost, and your confidence in it remains fundamentally unchanged.”
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