{"id":4719,"date":"2020-09-24T20:51:21","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T11:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4719"},"modified":"2020-09-25T16:00:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T07:00:17","slug":"typhoon-musan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2020\/09\/recommendations\/typhoon-musan\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e Typhoon Submerges Musan Iron Mine, Destroys Bridges, Roads, and Train Tracks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Photo) Musan County after the Tumen River broke its banks in November 2016. The area suffered a lot of damage.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6 Floods continue to hamper the Kim regime<\/h2>\n

Typhoon Haishen, which hit the Korean Peninsula in early September, significantly damaged Musan County in North Hamkyung Province. According to a reporting partner speaking with ASIAPRESS on September 14, farmlands were destroyed by landslides and the country\u2019s largest iron mine was submerged. (Kang Ji-won)<\/p>\n

Located on the border with China, Musan County has a population of about 100,000 and is home to the country\u2019s largest iron mine. Regarding the current status of the mine, the reporting partner said the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the heavy rain caused by Typhoon Haishen, the mine\u2019s refinery was submerged and much iron ore concentrate was lost, causing the river to turn black. In addition, two bridges connected to the mine collapsed and the road was blocked by a landslide, with even the railway tracks destroyed. It will take a considerable amount of time to recover.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It seems that the damage to residential areas was also significant. A series of landslides caused rivers to break their banks, submerging tracts of farmland and damaging crops. In addition, the small tracts of farmland which residents had illegally cultivated on the sides of mountains were wiped away. In particular, the Changyeol Gangseon District was said to have suffered a lot of damage.<\/p>\n

The Musan County residents who had illegally cultivated the small tracts of farmland on the sides of mountains were mainly cooperative farmers and miners. As it is difficult to survive off of the income from one\u2019s official place of employment, many are said to bribe local officials in order to get away with cultivating beans and peppers on mountainsides to sell for cash at local markets.<\/p>\n

The small mountainside tracts wiped away by the typhoon are unlikely to make a comeback as the practice is likely to be more strictly banned in the future. The reason for this stems from Kim Jong-un\u2019s visit to North Hamkyung Province on September 5.
\nNextPage: \u25c6Kim Jong-un orders senior officials to restore forests...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25a0 Kim Jong-un orders senior officials to restore forests<\/h2>\n

According to a reporting partner, \u201cWhen Kim Jong-un saw that there were no trees on the mountainside and that the land was being used for small-scale farming, he ordered that the mountains be planted with trees regardless of whether or not it could be used for growing grain. Many people are now worried that the practice of mountainside farming will be banned entirely.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

North Korea is frequently damaged by yearly floods due to extreme deforestation. Though there have been crackdowns on small-scale mountainside farming since Kim Jong-un rose to power in 2012, the practice has secretly continued due to extensive bribery. Local residents are concerned, however, that the current crackdown may bring an end to small-scale farming altogether.<\/p>\n

Kim Jong-un recently dismissed South Hamkyung Province\u2019s Workers\u2019 Party chairman, citing his failure to mitigate the risk of flood damage. As such, party officials across the country are under extreme pressure to follow Kim Jong-un\u2019s example by taking direct control of all flood recovery efforts at local construction sites.<\/p>\n

Kim Jong-un mobilized personnel from the Workers\u2019 Party in Pyongyang to work on recovery efforts in flood-stricken efforts. But are these forces now working in Musan County? The reporting partner answered thusly:<\/p>\n

\u201cThough it has been announced that the Pyongyang Workers\u2019 Party Construction Brigade was sent to North Hamkyung Province, where Kim Jong-un personally visited, the majority of the people working on the restoration in Musan County are locally mobilized laborers.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Map of North Korea (produced by ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

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