North Pyongan province is rushing to stockpile emergency disaster supplies by November following recent flooding and new national mandates, Daily NK has learned.
The directive comes after the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly amended the Disaster Prevention, Relief and Recovery Act in September, according to a source in North Pyongan province recently. Local enterprises must now build up reserves of rice, construction materials and fuel.
The province’s commercial bureau has been ordered to raise emergency cash funds for deposit in provincial banks, while the grain management bureau must secure additional rice stores beyond regular farm purchases.
“The provincial party committee has emphasized that all officials should focus on gathering these supplies in October and November, treating the directives as state law,” the source said.
The push for emergency preparedness follows leadership changes in July, when Kim Jong Un replaced several officials including the party secretary of the province during an emergency meeting in Sinuiju.
Kim blamed the officials for failing to prepare for devastating floods and appointed Ri Hi Yong, former first vice-director of the Organization and Guidance Department, as the province’s new party secretary.
Local officials appear especially eager to comply with the orders, as they say they “must be in synch” with Ri, who is viewed as “more complicated” than his predecessor.
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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