"North Korea's Plan to Establish Disaster Prevention System by 2030... Uncertain Whether It Will Be Realized"

Japan's Asahi Reports Obtaining Internal North Korean Documents

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] According to an internal North Korean document obtained by the Asahi Shimbun on the 6th, North Korea has set a plan to establish a disaster prevention system by 2030 to reduce damage caused by natural disasters such as typhoons.

According to the report, North Korean authorities created a plan titled "National Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction," which includes regional disaster prevention plans from 2019 to 2022 and a system for collecting disaster information. They also set goals to evaluate and manage this information by 2026 and to build an information-sharing system, infrastructure, and evacuation facilities by 2030.

The Asahi Shimbun analyzed that North Korea appears to have prepared this disaster prevention strategy because damage from annual natural disasters is hindering economic growth. Last summer, anticipating increased typhoon damage, Korean Central TV broadcast typhoon approach information 24 hours a day, and Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, appealed to Pyongyang citizens to participate in recovery efforts in the typhoon-affected areas, the Asahi added.

However, due to severe aging of infrastructure, it is not easy for North Korea to maintain its disaster prevention system. According to a 2018 survey by the South Korean government, North Korea continues to use bridges that were built 60 to 110 years ago on its railways. The main roads constructed with concrete are patched with soil where damaged, which tends to wash away during heavy rain.

According to Asahi, a defector in his 50s from South Pyongan Province stated, "Air-raid shelters and tunnels that serve as evacuation sites during typhoons are flooded and unusable."

Choi Jinwook, director of the Korea Strategic Culture Research Center, predicted, "Without international cooperation, it will be impossible to secure funds, and thus the maintenance of North Korea's disaster prevention system will not proceed." The Asahi added that North Korea's disaster prevention document is a 38-page English version, apparently prepared to secure overseas funding.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.