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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Justin McCurry in Osaka

North Korea may have executed officials over flood response, reports say

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un (centre) in waist-deep water as he visits reclaimed land which suffered flood damage due to a levee breaking in the western port city of Nampo.
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un (centre), in waist-deep water as he visits reclaimed land which that flood damage due to a levee breaking in the western port city of Nampo. Photograph: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP/Getty Images

North Korea may have executed multiple officials over damage from devastating floods in July that wrecked thousands of homes and left up to 1,500 people dead or missing, according to South Korean intelligence.

South Korea’s national intelligence service said it was closely monitoring signs that the regime had carried out the executions after the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, told an emergency meeting of the ruling party’s politburo that he would “strictly punish” those responsible for the damage, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported.

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