In this Nov 29, 2010, file photo, loaded trucks line up to cross the Friendship Bridge, linking China and the DPRK, near the town of Sinuiju of the DRPK. (ANDY WONG / FILE / AP)
SEOUL – Towns of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea along the border with China were flooded this week after heavy rain, threatening to exacerbate an already critical food and economic situation in the country.
The DPRK state broadcasters said the city of Sinuiju had reported its heaviest rainfall of the year on Thursday, with at least 132.5 mm of rain by 4 pm.
Video footage showed buses and other vehicles driving through water that had filled intersections, while pedestrians waded nearby.
To the east, in North Hamgyong Province, officials were working to ensure water supplies remained sanitary by supervising sewage disposal and ensuring that residents boiled water before drinking, state news agency KCNA reported
To the east, in North Hamgyong Province, officials were working to ensure water supplies remained sanitary by supervising sewage disposal and ensuring that residents boiled water before drinking, state news agency KCNA reported.
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The DPRK has reported an epidemic of an unspecified intestinal disease – suspected by officials of the Republic of Korea to be cholera or typhoid – and has blamed foreign objects from the border with the ROK for sparking a COVID-19 outbreak.
The natural disasters and epidemics may exacerbate food shortages in the DPRK.
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An annual United Nations report on food security released on Thursday found that the percentage of undernourished citizens of the DPRK reached 41.6 percent from 2019 to 2021, compared with 33.8 percent from 2004 to 2006.
In the south, the DPRK appeared to have released water from a dam near its border with the ROK, prompting vacationers in the neighboring country to evacuate as water levels on the Imjin River rose on Monday.