North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slams South Korea’s ‘fabricated’ reports of flood damage in first response to torrential rains in Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has condemned South Korean media for “fabricating” the extent of damage caused by recent flooding in his country, state media reported Saturday, in his first public response to the South following the torrential rains.

In a scathing message, Kim called South Korea an “immutable enemy” but did not respond to Seoul’s latest offer of humanitarian aid following flood damage.

The border town of Sinuiju and Uiju County in North Phyongan Province have recently been hit by heavy rains. South Korean media reported that the number of dead and missing could exceed 1,000.

Kim accused South Korea of ​​having a “malicious” goal of tarnishing North Korea’s image and waging a smear propaganda campaign against his country, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“The enemy’s junk media has claimed that the number of casualties in the affected areas exceeds 1,000 or 1,500 and has spread fabricated reports that several helicopters on rescue missions have crashed,” Kim was quoted as saying by the report. “The enemy is an immutable enemy.”

His message came as Kim visited a helicopter unit engaged in a rescue operation on Friday to encourage troops to contribute.

Kim Jong-un’s hostile attitude toward Seoul suggests that Pyongyang is unlikely to accept South Korea’s offer of aid. On Thursday, the North Korean government offered humanitarian aid to North Korea to deal with flood damage, saying it expected a quick response from North Korea.

North Korea has not responded since then through an inter-Korean communications channel.

On Sunday, Kim Jong Un led a rescue operation to rescue about 5,000 stranded residents in flood-hit areas of Sinuiju and Uiju county. North Korea said torrential rains had submerged more than 4,100 homes and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmland. But it did not reveal details about casualties.

North Korea called an emergency meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s politburo earlier this week to discuss ways to deal with the flood damage.

At a year-end party meeting last year, Kim defined inter-Korean relations as those “between two states hostile to each other” and said there was no point in seeking reconciliation and unification with South Korea. (Yonhap)