Kim Jong Un executed 30 officials who failed to prevent casualties during the flood

Kim Jong Un executed 30 officials who failed to prevent casualties during the flood

According to reports from South Korean media, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have ordered the execution of up to 30 officials for not preventing severe flooding and landslides. These disasters reportedly caused around 1,000 deaths. Chosun TV, a South Korean outlet, said that Kim Jong Un demanded "strict punishment" for those responsible for the "unacceptable loss" of life. The officials were also accused of corruption and failing to do their jobs. The executions supposedly took place at the end of last month.

Although the identities of the executed officials haven’t been revealed, North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, mentioned that Kang Bong-hoon, who had been the secretary of the Chagang Province Party Committee since 2019, was removed from his position by Kim Jong Un.

In July, heavy rains caused floods and landslides in North Korea, affecting over 4,000 homes and displacing 15,000 people. Kim Jong Un visited the affected areas and said it would take several months to rebuild the flooded neighborhoods. The government provided shelter in Pyongyang for 15,400 people, including vulnerable groups like mothers, children, the elderly, and disabled soldiers.

However, Kim Jong Un denied that the floods caused a significant number of deaths, calling the reports "false rumors." He accused South Korea of spreading these rumors to damage North Korea's reputation.

Lee Il-gyu, a former North Korean diplomat, said that even though there was recent flood damage, officials were punished for other reasons too, and they are now living in fear, not knowing when they might be executed.

The Korea Times reported that public executions in North Korea have sharply increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, there were around 10 public executions per year, but now that number has jumped to about 100 annually.