Flood victims in Kujang county, North Pyongan province, are complaining that Kim Jong Un doesn’t care about their area as reconstruction work stalls months after this summer’s heavy rains.
A Daily NK source in North Pyongan province reported recently that affected locals remain essentially abandoned despite initial official interest following the exposure of damage underreporting. People have been mobilized to the recovery site, but there are no visible results.
Kujang county experienced heavy rains in late July that washed away small and medium-sized power plant facilities and collapsed bridges, paralyzing traffic. Landslides and flash floods also destroyed homes and caused casualties, with people missing or killed.
At the time, local officials underreported and concealed the damage situation, which was exposed during a comprehensive investigation by higher authorities, leading to punishments.
Authorities subsequently proclaimed an “organized reconstruction battle,” but no notable results have emerged to date. In particular, construction of new homes centered on about 80 households of discharged veterans and model farmers is especially sluggish.
Severe material shortages
According to the source, home construction for Kujang county damage recovery currently faces severe material shortages. Nothing is provided at the provincial level, and even at the county or village level only some cement or lumber is provided, so most homes are being built with mud bricks.
Higher-ups presented power plant recovery as the priority task, but locals are complaining that homes should be built first with winter approaching rather than a power plant they don’t benefit from. Most people are still staying with relatives or in temporary lodgings like work unit propaganda rooms, and some tired of waiting are doing interior work on homes with only walls erected at their own expense.
Meanwhile, locals are expressing relative deprivation compared to the flooding that occurred in northern border areas including North Pyongan, Jagang and Ryanggang provinces in July last year.
People note that the whole country rose up for damage that occurred at the same time last year, but the current response is completely different. Even among flood victims, the state’s attention varies dramatically.
Some locals are making self-deprecating remarks that only places where Kim Jong Un’s attention goes are worth living in.
“Last year’s flood areas received nationwide support after Kim visited, but Kujang county has no support and even reconstruction work isn’t being done properly, so locals are expressing bitterness, saying ‘In the end, in our society, support and recovery speed differ according to the leader’s attention,'” the source said.
