|
Kim
inspected a tideland on the west coast on Monday after seawater
recently destroyed an embankment with inadequate drainage
system, flooding more than 560 hectares of land, including over
270 hectares of rice paddies, news agency KCNA said.
Chastising officials for their "very irresponsible" neglect of
duties, Kim singled out Kim Tok Hun, premier of the cabinet, for
inspecting the destroyed site once or twice "with the attitude
of an onlooker".
"He said ... in recent years the administrative and economic
discipline of the Kim Tok Hun Cabinet has got out of order more
seriously and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the
state economic work with the irresponsible work manner," the
KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.
Such irresponsibility and lack of discipline from officials is
"mainly attributable to the feeble work attitude and wrong
viewpoint of the premier of the cabinet," Kim said.
This week's visit is the latest in a series of inspections the
North Korean leader has made of flood-hit farmlands amid
mounting concerns over a food crisis in the reclusive country.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South
Korea's Kyungnam University, said Kim's harsh criticism could
herald a cabinet reshuffle. It also demonstrates that the
economy is not developing as planned, Lim added.
"After all, Kim appears to be furious over the national economy
not improving as much as he wants," Lim said.
The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades,
including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural
disasters. International experts have warned that border
closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened matters.
(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; editing by Miral Fahmy)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
