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N. Korean soldier reveals struggles in flood recovery efforts

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The North Korean authorities have been deploying large numbers of soldiers to engage in flood recovery work in regions of North Pyongan Province, Chagang Province and Yanggang Province along the Yalu River after designating the area a “special disaster emergency zone.” According to a soldier deployed to the flood zone, recovery work has been slow because the region remains largely underwater.

Single-story homes and public buildings are half-submerged, while many homes in low-lying areas are up to their roofs in water.

Structures such as bridges have either been swept away or collapsed, while roads have been submerged so that one cannot tell they were even there. In particular, with the water carrying away many electrical poles, most of the flood-stricken regions in the three provinces have no electricity or running water.

Even major munitions factories that had 24-hour access to electricity have been forced to shut down for the first time ever.

Daily NK talked to a North Korean soldier engaged in recovery work in the flood zone since late last month to hear about conditions on the ground that were unreported even in North Korea’s media.

Below is the Q&A with the North Korean soldier deployed to help with recovery efforts in a flood zone in Chagang Province.

Daily NK: Which region are you currently deployed in?

“I’ve been engaging in recovery work in Jasong County, Manpo and Kanggye in Chagang Province.”

Daily NK: What is the flood situation there?

“All the homes in the area along the Yalu River are flooded. All residents of this area have been evacuated. Homes, farmhouses and factories are all flooded. Most roads, levees and bridges have collapsed. One cannot even think of electricity or running water. Chagang Province is home to many large munitions factories. Unlike other places, munitions factories had 24-hour electricity and continued to operate at night, but even these factories have stopped production because of the flooding.”

Daily NK: Chagang Province is home to the Jangjagang Machine Tool Factory, Chonchon 2.8 Machine Factory, Kanggye General Tractor Plant and Kanggye General Precision Machine Factory. Do you mean these factories have ceased production due to the floods?

“That’s right. Many of Manpo’s factories are flooded down to the bunkers connected to their basements. The machinery and supplies needed to produce munitions are wet. The secretary of the Chagang Province Party Committee was sacked during a politburo meeting to take responsibility for the flooding of the munitions factories, not for failing to save people from the flooding. All the soldiers here know that. The flooding at munition factories is serious. In some places, people can’t even enter the bunkers. Supplies used to make explosives can’t dry after they’ve become wet, so you must throw them all out. The leadership thinks the flooding of the munitions factories’ bunkers is a more serious problem than flooded homes.”

Daily NK: What kind of work are you primarily engaged in?

“Initially, we engaged in rescue work to evacuate stranded people to safe places. There was so much water we had to enter it with ropes tied around our waists, but it was very dangerous. Many soldiers were almost swept away by the water, and in fact, a soldier in another unit died trying to rescue stranded people. Now, we are scooping water out of flooded homes and buildings and clearing the mud and debris. We are also restoring roads and placing temporary bridges so people can get around OK.”

Daily NK: How bad are the human losses? Have you also recovered dead bodies from the flood zone?

“I saw a dead body for the first time in my life. Onsite, you see bodies every day. It was tough seeing bloated bodies from the water. Some soldiers vomited while clearing the bodies. Soldiers doing recovery work clear bodies every day. That’s how many people died. I understand that provincial, city and county emergency disaster response teams survey the stats on the missing and dead and report them to the Central Committee daily.”

Daily NK: What is the hardest thing about the flood recovery work?

“The hardest thing is the shortages of equipment and manpower. Even though many soldiers have been deployed to the flood zone, it’s not enough because the area is huge. We lack equipment, too, so we often have to go into the water with a single rope tied around us. Because we have to work in the water, you grow exhausted quickly, and many soldiers with bad stamina collapse. Still, I think we eat well. They keep air-dropping us war supplies, so it feels like we eat better food than usual.”

Daily NK: How long will it take to recover from the damage completely?

“If you come and see the situation on the ground, it’s awful. Recovering from the damage is expected to take at least several months. I think finishing in just a month or two will be tough. There’s still a lot of work to do to repair homes, restart electricity and running water supplies and reconstruct roads and bridges.”

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.

Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

Read in Korean

August 07, 2024 at 12:00PM

by DailyNK(North Korean Media)

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