World Reluctant To Send North Korea Humanitarian Aid For Devastating Floods, Following Threats Of Annihilation


The North Korea floods could not have come at a worse time for the Hermit Kingdom.

A flood in 2012 which reportedly killed 160+ people, also caused a lot of building damage. Here are piles of dirt dug up around Ungok. [Photo by David Guttenfelder/AP Images]

The Christian Science Monitor suggests that the North Korea floods were reported by their state media in English for them to appeal for humanitarian aid to the Western world.

Which is interesting given that it’s the Western world North Korea has been threatening with their missile tests, which have increased since U.S. President Obama traveled through Asia recently for the ASEAN Summit.

Some reports covering this incident have referred to similar floods in North Korea during 2007, which according to al-Jazeera was said to have killed more than 600 people and the loss of one-third of their crops.

The video report above also refers to previous floods in the area during 1997, which reportedly caused an equal amount of devastation.

At the time the Red Cross delivered food and supplies to 3-million people, but there is little confirmation that it was actually used because of restrictions against outsiders, within reason.

As for the recent reports, it’s been said that the floods started on August 29 and since then, thousands of buildings have been destroyed with over 130 people killed and 300 and more missing as a result of Typhoon Lionrock, as reported by United Nations.

Three medium-range missiles are fired during the G20 Summit in September; missiles reportedly made it to the Sea of Japan. [Photo by KRT/AP Images]

News about the floods in North Korea also come at a time when the country’s threats have escalated, not only around the president’s noted travel, but with reports that there have been defections among high-ranking elites within the regime to China and South Korea.

Their acts of defiance are such that Japan feels threatened, as well, since more than one missile has landed in the Sea of Japan during this year alone.

It certainly doesn’t help that there have been other reports of North Korea carrying out the testing of a nuclear bomb, which is said to have been detected to be the largest of its kind.

Other news about the region has been consistent with regards to the sanctions imposed by the United States, in a fragile deal with the international community that could fall apart if China wants to defy the U.S., who have already accused them of continuing to trade with North Korea, which is in violation of the sanctions agreement.

The sanctions themselves were increased earlier in the year by blacklisting many in the Pyongyang leadership, including Kim Jong-un.

But even with humanitarian aid being provided by the outside world over the floods in the past, it’s hard to say if they will get the outside help they claim to need.

Due to the country’s secrecy, it’s almost impossible to know if the reports of the floods are true. One piece written by highly-acclaimed blog One Free Korea in 2007, disputes the casualties Pyongyang has reported. And while the United Nations might feel compelled to get involved, they would have to independently confirm the claims and they’re unable to do that.

“If the truth really is that bad, the North Korean government probably wouldn’t be able to pull those statistics together that quickly. Certainly the U.N. wasn’t given the access to the North Korean countryside needed to do that assessment independently. But such an assessment is essential if we’re to know the real extent of the humanitarian impact and mitigate it effectively. If we learned anything from the Great Famine, it’s that we can’t trust the North Korean regime to tell the world the truth, not even for the sake of saving the lives of own people alive.”

The U.S. is currently looking to deploy THAAD missiles to South Korea’s border, which Business Insider not only details but also explains the urgency the U.S. and South Korea feel to fend off North Korea as a threat.

In 2016 alone, North Korea has escalated their threats and with their recent missile testing, the international community isn’t sure how seriously to take their ability to hit the U.S. with a nuclear bomb using a long-range missile, or not. But even those who were skeptical, cannot ignore that North Korea is provoking surrounding nations.

It could also be said that the reports of floods might just be a way for the country to get supplies as it is said that many of the people there are already starved.

Nonetheless, whether there are floods or not and when North Korea continues to threaten others such as it has, if they want humanitarian aid, many would agree that North Korea shouldn’t hold their breath.

[Photo by KRT/AP Images]

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