Asia
Kim Jong Un Wades Into North Korean Floods in Hands-On Propaganda Drive
- State media finding new ways to show Kim taking control
- Damage could be worse than reported as cadres get blamed
Kim Jong Un inspects a flood-hit area in Sinuiju city, North Phyongan province, in this undated photo provided by the North Korean government on July 29.
Source: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP PhotoThis article is for subscribers only.
Leader Kim Jong Un plants his feet in mud, rides a cramped rubber rescue boat on a swollen river and directs military helicopters unloading evacuees on a rain-soaked runway.
North Korea’s propaganda apparatus is breaking new ground in the way it has portrayed him battling alongside ordinary citizens as he tackles a flood emergency that has devastated a northwestern area of the country and is estimated to have caused a “considerable human toll,” according to the South Korean ministry that manages relations with the neighbor.