[Anchor]
The massive floods in Nepal have left thousands dead or missing. North Korea has been continuously reporting on the damage in Nepal recently, showing that Pyongyang is keeping a close eye on the climate crisis.
Reporter Kim Ayeong has the details.
[Reporter]
This is the international news segment from a Korean Central Television broadcast on August 31.
It reports on the status of damage from the major floods in Nepal along with an analysis of the causes.
[As of the morning of the 28th, the death toll has reached 469 due to landslides and floods caused by glacier collapses in Nepal's mountainous regions.]
After first reporting the disaster on August 29, just three days after the floods occurred, North Korea continued its coverage with a total of six related reports up until yesterday (September 3).
Considering the nature of a regime that controls and filters external information, this suggests the North Korean authorities are paying sharp attention to the floods in Nepal.
State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un sent messages of condolence to Nepal and China respectively on August 28, and the Rodong Sinmun, read by North Korean residents, front-paged the news the next day.
As seen in the Nepal case, North Korea tends to report overseas disasters caused by global warming and abnormal weather in relatively great detail.
Over the past week, reports have covered heavy rain in the U.S., floods in the Philippines, a typhoon in Vietnam, high-temperature phenomena in Japan, and wildfires in Spain.
[Due to oceans warming for decades from global warming overlapping with El Nino, sea surface temperatures are rising rapidly.]
Experts interpret this as an effort to raise public awareness and emphasize thorough preparation in a situation where disaster prevention infrastructure such as drainage and embankments remains vulnerable.
Signs were also detected last year that North Korea newly established a ministerial-level body called the Ministry of Disaster Prevention under the Cabinet, an evaluation suggests as a measure to enhance state-level response capabilities against increasingly frequent natural disasters.
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.