Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Shortly ago, floods and heavy rains seriously and consecutively damaged some areas of the country, including North Phyongan and Jagang provinces.

In this regard, the 22nd emergency enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was held in the damaged area of Sinuiju City, North Phyongan Province from July 29 to 30 to take urgent recovery measures.

Prior to the meeting, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un inspected the flooded areas, together with the premier of the Cabinet and secretaries of the WPK Central Committee.

Many public buildings, facilities, roads and railways, including more than 4 100 dwelling houses and nearly 3 000 hectares of farmlands, were flooded in Sinuiju City and Uiju County located on the lower reaches of the Amnok River.

Going round the areas deeply flooded beyond recognition, Kim Jong Un expressed deep concern and his determination to take strong state measures for the restoration in the shortest time to provide the people with a better cradle for life.

Attending the meeting were members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and members and alternate members of the Political Bureau.

Present as observers were senior officials in the fields related to the restoration including electric power, railways, communications and agriculture.

Kim Jong Un presided over the meeting.

Noting that an emergency enlarged meeting was convened to discuss the damage prevention and recovery measures as regards the fact that flooding simultaneously damaged several areas in recent days and its further danger was created, he detailed the present national and regional flood damage.

He gave an appraisal of the relief measures and recovery work, taken and conducted by the relevant regions and institutions at all levels since the happening of disaster, and analyzed the achievements and shortcomings.

Enumerating such revealed evils as the issue of disaster danger, which could be surely minimized in the early period but was amplified due to the failure of unified command despite the establishment of the state guidance system related to emergency disaster response, and the issue of provinces, cities and counties, which could not but helplessly suffer from disaster for their chronic and indifferent attitude toward the disaster prevention work as they had been not greatly damaged by flood in the past, he proposed to strictly punish those who severely neglected their responsible duties assigned by the Party and the state and thus caused even the casualty that can not be allowed.

Saying that the people observe the meeting even at this moment as they trust the Party, he underscored the need to take in a strong and meticulous way all measures to eradicate the aftermath as soon as possible, bearing deep in mind the expectation of the people and the important mission before them, and set forth important tasks and ways for doing so.

He stressed that measures should be taken to urgently supply the reserved materials for emergency disaster to quickly stabilize the life of inhabitants in the flood-hit areas and the Cabinet and relevant ministries and national agencies should be actively mobilized in the work.

He detailed the practical issues arising in the recovery work, including the issue of correctly surveying the damage and losses in provinces and, on this basis, scientifically calculating the scale of restoration, manpower and budget, the issue of ensuring promptness in the restoration campaign by mobilizing the design forces of the capital city and local areas without delay and giving precedence to designs and the issue of dispatching construction forces to the areas as soon as possible and fully supplying and transporting materials.

Saying that it is necessary to thoroughly prevent additional damage caused by the disastrous climate in the future, he called on the meteorological forecast sector to make forecast in a responsible manner and on every sector and unit to make thorough preparations for preventing damage with the highest awareness and, in particular, make sure that no casualty is caused.

Calling for dynamically pushing ahead with the work to rapidly stockpile essential equipment and apparatuses for rescue operation at a time when disaster occurs, he made public important measures for it.

Calling upon the participants in the meeting including the members of the Political Bureau to visit the tents where the flood victims of Uiju County are staying temporarily and thus heavily feel their responsibility while directly watching their living condition, console and encourage them, make a deep study of detailed measures for restoration, listening to their candid voices, and submit them to the Political Bureau, he concluded the first-day sitting..

The second-day sitting took place on July 30.

The meeting of the Political Bureau studied the draft decision on the immediate recovery from flood damage.

The decision "On rapidly removing the flood damage in North Phyongan and Jagang Provinces" was adopted with unanimous approval at the meeting.

At the meeting, Ri Hi Yong, former first vice department director of the Organizational Leadership Department of the WPK Central Committee, was appointed as chief secretary of the North Phyongan Provincial Committee of the WPK, Pak Song Chol, chief secretary of the North Phyongan Provincial Committee of the WPK, as chief secretary of the Jagang Provincial Committee of the WPK and Pang Tu Sop, first vice department director of the Department of Political Leadership over Military Affairs of the WPK Central Committee, as minister of Public Security.

Concluding the meeting, Kim Jong Un said that whenever we meet a crisis, we have been brave and offensive in the face of it and have always worked only miracles and there is nothing impossible as long as there are the leadership of the Party and the army and people remaining faithful to the Party. He ardently called for stoutly turning out in the face of crisis and making miraculous achievements.

The 22nd emergency enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Eighty Central Committee of the WPK will shine long in the history of the WPK as an epochal occasion of putting the buildup of the disaster prevention and management capability of the DPRK on a new high stage and as an important political event that clearly demonstrated once again the sacred mission and popular character of the WPK which prioritizes the interests of the people and put them above all and makes selfless, devoted efforts for the good of the people. -0-

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