121 dead after recent North Korean floods

Floods that swept across parts of impoverished North Korea killed at least 121 people and left 127 missing according to figures reported so far by the government, an aid group operating in the communist country said today.

The acting head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ office in Pyongyang also said that the North Korean government had no plans to launch an international appeal for help after the disaster caused by heavy rains earlier this month.

“The government has made it very clear that we are not allowed to make an international appeal for support,” John Bales said by telephone from Pyongyang.

“They feel they don’t need it, that they can manage with what theyve got themselves.”

The casualty figures were only for counties where the International Red Cross is working along with its national counterpart and didn’t cover all affected areas, Bales said, meaning the death toll was expected to rise.

North Korea’s official media said last week that the disaster had left “hundreds” of people dead or missing, without giving exact casualty figures.

The high water left at least 12,585 families homeless, and the Red Cross is assisting 4,950 of those most in need by providing blankets, water containers, kitchen supplies and plastic sheeting, Bales said.