Will North Korea accept external aid for historic flood disaster?图片展示
Will North Korea accept external aid for historic flood disaster?视频展示
Will North Korea accept external aid for historic flood disaster?详情
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, visits a flood-affected area in North Pyongan Province, in this photo released Wednesday by the North's state media Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap
Pyongyang open to Moscow’s aid proposal, likely to reject Seoul’s offer: expertsBy Lee Hyo-jinNorth Korea has not officially accepted any external aid — not even offers from its closest ally, Russia — as it grapples with the fallout from a massive flood in its northwestern region. This approach aligns with its leader Kim Jong-un's apparent strategy to emphasize self-reliance and project an image that "everything is under control," according to observers, Sunday.
Nevertheless, Pyongyang has kept the door open to Moscow's aid proposal, while de facto rejecting Seoul's offer, the experts noted, reflecting North Korea's preference for recovery assistance from strategic allies.
Recent heavy rains have inundated North Korea, flooding over 4,000 homes and isolating approximately 5,000 residents in North Pyongan Province. Thousands were rescued by airlift and other methods last Friday, under a rescue mission overseen personally by the North Korea leader, according to the North's state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The KCNA reported, Sunday, that Kim received a message of sympathy from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who expressed willingness to provide immediate humanitarian support for recovery efforts.
In response, Kim "expressed sincere thanks" to Putin and acknowledged feeling a "deep sense of gratitude towards a genuine friend in the most difficult period."
Kim also stated that "rehabilitation work would proceed according to the already-established plan," with state measures currently focused on repairing the flood damage. He added that if aid became necessary, he would request it from "the truest friends in Moscow," the KCNA reported.
"Although Pyongyang did not immediately accept Moscow's aid offer, it did not reject it either. It appears that North Korea is more inclined to accept assistance from Russia rather than other countries or international organizations," said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies.
Yang explained that in the event of a natural disaster, North Korea typically emphasizes self-reliance before seeking external help. It usually turns to allies before approaching international organizations, with South Korea and the U.S. considered as a last resort — though this scenario remains unlikely given the current tensions between the two Koreas.
The KCNA's Sunday edition did not address South Korea's recent proposal to provide relief supplies for the flood damage.
Instead, it included a statement from North Korea's foreign ministry condemning a first-ever tabletop exercise integrating Seoul's advanced conventional forces with Washington's nuclear capabilities. This exercise, dubbed Iron Mace 24, took place last week at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses with troops during his visit to a helicopter unit dispatched to rescue isolated residents in flood-hit areas, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, Saturday. Yonhap
Lim Eul-chul, an expert on North Korea at Kyungnam University, anticipated that Seoul's aid proposal will likely be ignored.
On Thursday, the South Korean Red Cross proposed humanitarian assistance for the flood damage and offered to discuss details through the Red Cross societies. This marked Seoul's first offer of flood relief to Pyongyang since 2012.
This was the second such proposal under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which has maintained a tough stance on Pyongyang. The first proposal, made on May 16, 2022, shortly after Yoon's inauguration, offered food and medical supplies to help North Korea cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The North did not respond to that offer.
"Given that the North has been stepping up its antagonism toward South Korea, describing it as an enemy state and using this rhetoric to unite its people, it makes little sense for Kim's leadership to accept Seoul's aid proposal. Plus, accepting external aid at this stage would undermine his message that everything is under control," Lim said.
In recent days, Pyongyang's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, has highlighted "collectivism" among North Koreans in the rescue efforts and distribution of relief materials to the flood-hit regions. On Saturday, the newspaper reported that Kim made a congratulatory visit to the helicopter unit of the Air Force of the Korean People’s Army, which had conducted the air rescue operations.
During a speech at the helicopter unit, Kim described South Korea as an "unchangeable enemy," just two days after Seoul's aid offer.
"The enemy’s rubbish media are spreading a false rumor that the number of casualties in our flood-hit areas is expected to be over 1,000 or 1,500 and that several helicopters are believed to have fallen on the rescue mission. Clear is the sinister purpose of those in Seoul obsessed about such a smear campaign," the North Korean leader was quoted as saying by the Rodong Sinmun.
Buildings are submerged in flood waters in Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on July 29. Yonhap
Meanwhile, China, North Korea’s traditional ally, has yet to extend an official offer of aid.
The latest flooding along the Amnok River and areas near the Chinese border may have been worsened due to China's elevated river embankments, observers noted, which indicates a lack of timely flood prevention cooperation between North Korea and China.
"Whether China swiftly offers assistance to North Korea, and Pyongyang's subsequent reaction, will serve as a test of the current state of relations between the two nations," Lim said.
Relations between North Korea and China have noticeably strained since the Kim-Putin summit in June, with some observers pointing to Beijing’s discomfort on being perceived as part of a three-way bloc with the increasingly isolated Pyongyang and Moscow.