According to South Korean news channel TV Chosun, North Korea executed up to 30 officials last month for failing to prevent floods and landslides.

The newspaper quoted a government official as saying: “It was found that 20 to 30 cadres were executed in the flood-affected area at the same time at the end of last month.”

The individuals were blamed for last month’s flooding of the Yalu River, which was caused by heavy rains and led to the isolation, displacement and death of more than 5,000 residents, according to Daily NK, a South Korea-based news channel that covers North Korea.

Officials have also reportedly been accused of corruption and dereliction of duty.

After the flood, Kim Jong-un held an emergency meeting with Kang Bong-hoon, the party secretary of Chagang Province since 2019, and the minister of public security, according to Chosun TV. However, he dismissed both of them.

Former North Korean diplomat Lee Il-gyu commented on the layoffs to Chosun TV, saying: “Although there was recent flood damage, they were laid off for social security reasons. And the managers themselves are so insecure that they don’t know when their temper will burst.”

The floods and landslides of the Yalu River that reached the China-North Korea border caused more than 4,000 buildings and 3,000 hectares of farmland in Sinuiju city and Uiju county to be inundated, the Korean Central News Agency said, as the Japanese newspaper reported. Nikkei Asia.

Kim Jong-un ordered authorities to bring about 15,400 people to the capital to recover from the floods, rejected international aid and said, according to the Associated Press, that rebuilding and stabilizing the flood-affected areas would take two to three months.

Other areas affected by the floods include North Pyongan, Ryanggang and Jagang provinces, according to satellite images from August 8. Newsweek previously reported.

Executions of officials and citizens are not uncommon in North Korea – before the COVID-19 pandemic, the country carried out 10 public executions a year, and since then the number of public executions has risen exponentially to about 100, according to the Korea Times.

In addition, Seoul says the number of executions of young people in North Korea is increasing as the country tries to reduce South Korea’s influence.

North Korea claims that public executions are rare and the death penalty is rarely used.

Newsweek has asked the North Korean embassy in London for a statement via email.

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