Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed its condolences to North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un over the devastating floods that have killed countless people and damaged thousands of homes, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
The North, in turn, said on Sunday that Putin had also offered “immediate humanitarian aid” to support reconstruction, to which Kim responded that he could “deeply feel the special emotion for a true friend.”
Pyongyang reported this week that it experienced record rainfall on July 27, killing an unknown number of people, flooding homes and inundating large swaths of farmland in the north, near China.
“I ask you to convey words of condolences and support to all who lost their loved ones as a result of the storm,” Putin wrote in a telegram to Kim.
“You can always count on our help and support.”
“Condolences from Moscow were conveyed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Saturday,” the official KCNA said. The message was immediately reported to leader Kim.
Kim thanked Putin for the support, but said that “the plans have already been set and the government measures have already been taken at this point.”
Regarding the offer, Kim said: “If help is needed during the course, he will ask for it from the best friends in Moscow,” KCNA reported.
Pyongyang said on Wednesday that officials neglecting their disaster prevention duties had caused unknown casualties, without providing details on the location.
On Saturday, the ministry said there were no casualties at all in the Sinuiju area, the region that Pyongyang said suffered the “worst damage from the floods.”
North Korea and Russia have been allies since the creation of North Korea after World War II. Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, they have become even closer.
South Korean media, which have offered urgent support to the victims, reported this week that the death toll and the number of missing people could rise to 1,500.
Kim slammed the reports, calling them a “smear campaign to discredit us and tarnish the North's image.”
North Korea is accused of violating arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.
Natural disasters often have a greater impact on the isolated and impoverished country due to its weak infrastructure, and deforestation has left the country vulnerable to flooding.
bur-kjk/fox
