SEOUL, South Korea: More than 5,000 people isolated by flooding in northwest North Korea were rescued in airlifts and other evacuation work supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported Monday.
Heavy rainfall on Saturday had caused a river on the North Korean-Chinese border to exceed a dangerous level and created “a grave crisis,” the official Korean Central News Agency said.
About 10 military helicopters and navy and government boats were mobilized for the evacuation efforts in Sinuiju city and Uiju town where flooding had isolated residents.
KCNA did not mention any deaths or how much damage the flooding caused. It said each of the about 10 helicopters made several fights to move the residents despite bad weather, ultimately rescuing 4,200 of the affected people by airlift.
It said Kim guided the evacuation works Sunday, ordered food and other necessities to be provided to affected people, and set tasks for recovery and relief works.
KCNA cited Kim as calling the rescue works “miraculous” as more than 5,000 people were saved through the efforts.
Summer floods in North Korea often cause serious damage to farmlands due to poor drainage, deforestation and dilapidated infrastructure. Typhoons and torrential rains in 2020 were among the difficulties Kim previously said had created “multiple crises” at home, along with draconian pandemic-related restrictions and UN sanctions over his nuclear weapons program.
During his weekend visit to the flooded region, Kim also scolded officials for lowering their guard though he had ordered efforts to prevent flood damage more than once, KCNA said.
“They, seized with defeatism at combat with nature, do not confidently turn out in the disaster prevention work, only expecting chance from the sky,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
Kim stressed that the irresponsible attitude of those tasked with ensuring people’s safety should not be overlooked. He said the North’s emergency response agency and the Ministry of Public Security didn’t even know the exact populations of the flood-hit areas so the number of people rescued was larger than expected.
Kim’s criticism could be seen as an effort to shift blame while establishing his own image as a leader caring about his people while North Korea struggles with economic difficulties and international isolation, observers say.
5,000 people rescued from flooding in North Korea in evacuation efforts led by Kim
https://arab.news/c3vxt
5,000 people rescued from flooding in North Korea in evacuation efforts led by Kim
- About 10 military helicopters and navy and government boats were mobilized for the evacuation efforts
- KCNA did not mention any deaths or how much damage the flooding caused
Climate activist group files second lawsuit against Sweden
- Sweden’s Supreme Court in February 2025 ruled that the complaint filed against the state was inadmissible
- “We still have a chance to get out of the planetary crises and build a safe and fair world,” Edling said
STOCKHOLM: A group of climate activists said Friday they were filing another lawsuit against the Swedish state for alleged climate inaction, after the Supreme Court threw out their case last year.
The group behind the lawsuit, Aurora, first tried to sue the Swedish state in late 2022.
Sweden’s Supreme Court in February 2025 ruled that the complaint filed against the state — brought by an individual, with 300 other people joining it as a class action lawsuit — was inadmissible.
The court at the time noted the “very high requirements for individuals to have the right to bring such a claim” against a state.
“We still have a chance to get out of the planetary crises and build a safe and fair world. But this requires that rich countries that emit as much as Sweden stop breaking the law,” Aurora spokesperson Ida Edling said in a statement Friday.
The group, which said the lawsuit had been filed with the Stockholm District Court Friday, said it believes the Swedish state is obligated “to reduce Sweden’s emissions as much and as quickly as necessary in order for the country to be in line with its fair share.”
“This means that emissions from several sectors must reach zero before 2030,” the group said, while noting this was 15 years before Sweden’s currently set targets.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency as well as the OECD warned last year that Sweden was at risk of not reaching its own goal of net zero emissions by 2045.
While the first lawsuit was unsuccessful, the group noted that international courts had made several landmark decisions since the first suit was filed, spotlighting two in particular.
In an April 2024 decision, Europe’s top rights court, the European Court of Human Rights, ruled that Switzerland was not doing enough to tackle climate change, the first country ever to be condemned by an international tribunal for not taking sufficient action to curb global warming.
In 2025, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that countries violating their climate obligations were committing an “unlawful” act.
