N. Korea sets up new ministry in charge of disaster management: Seoul
By Yonhap, Published Jul 4, 2025 5:15 pm KST
North Korea has set up a new ministry in charge of emergency disaster management in a bid to better respond to natural disasters, South Korea’s unification ministry said Friday.
A new government agency, tentatively named the disaster prevention ministry, was first identified in footage aired by North Korea’s state-run TV network the previous day, Seoul’s ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said.
Footage carried an interview with an official at the ministry who stressed the need to bolster the country’s crisis response capabilities at every level, citing potential risks from natural disasters such as typhoons and floods.
The unification ministry said there is a high possibility the State Emergency Disaster Committee, a Cabinet-level organ handling disaster management, could be revamped into the Disaster Prevention Ministry.
The North probably upgraded the committee into the ministry-level agency on judgment that responsibility and authority are dispersed at the committee level.
North Korea is vulnerable to natural disasters due to its lack of infrastructure, with heavy rains, in particular, leaving thousands of people displaced in the impoverished country.
Heavy rains in July last year flooded large swaths of lands along the Amnok River in North Phyongan, Jagang and Ryangang provinces. North Korea did not disclose casualties, but South Korean media outlets reported the number of those who died or went missing due to the floods probably exceeded 1,000.
Major natural disasters (floods) since 2010
| year | Disaster type/period | Damaged area | Major damage status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | July heavy rain | Chagang, Hamnam, Hwanghae, Pyeongan, Gangwon, etc. | o (Buildings) 5,560 residential units, 350 production and public buildings flooded and destroyed * 673 households in Jagang and 486 households in South Hamgyong completely destroyed o (Farmland) 14,850 acres flooded, buried, or lost * 7,380 acres of farmland flooded in South Hwangnam, Pyeongan, and South Hamgyong regions o (Infrastructure) Flooding and destruction of power industry facilities, railways, embankments, bridges, etc. |
| 7.21-22. | Unsan in North Pyongan Province, Sinheung and Hamheung in South Hamgyong Province | o (farmland) About 1,000 farmland | |
| 8.19.-21. | Sinuiju City and Uiju County | o (Buildings) 7,100 residential buildings (7,750 households), 300 production and public buildings destroyed o (Farmland) 7,200 hectares flooded, buried, or washed away o (Infrastructure) 7,700㎥ of railroad bed, 400m of bridge destroyed, etc. | |
| Early September (Typhoon Kompasu) | All over North Korea | o (Life) Dozens killed o (Buildings) Housing: 8,380 households in 3,300 buildings, 230 production and public buildings destroyed o (Farmland) 35,500 hectares flooded, buried, or washed away o (Infrastructure) 6,200㎡ of railroad bed completely destroyed, 65,980m of railroad damaged, etc. | |
| 2011 | June 25-27 (Typhoon Echo) | All over North Korea | o (Buildings) 160 houses destroyed o (Farmland) 21,000 pieces of land flooded, buried, or lost |
| 7.12.-15. | Hwangnam, Hwangbuk, Hamnam | o (Farmland) △(Hwangnam) 15,000 jeongbo △(Hwangbuk) 5,900 jeongbo flooded | |
| Late June to mid-July Typhoon and heavy rain damage (comprehensive) | All over North Korea | o (Life) Dozens of casualties and missing, 8,000 displaced o (Buildings) 2,900 houses, 170 production and public buildings destroyed o (Farmland) 60,000 pieces of information flooded, buried, or lost o (Infrastructure) 1 high-voltage transmission tower, 300 Jeonju University destroyed, etc. | |
| 8.7-9. (Typhoon Muifa) | All over North Korea | o (Life) 10 casualties o (Buildings) 240 houses, dozens of production and public buildings destroyed o (Farmland) 25,800 pieces of information damaged o (Infrastructure) 10 bridges destroyed | |
| 2012 | June 29–August 20 (4 rounds of heavy rain) (Typhoon Bolaven) | All over North Korea | o (Life) 300 dead, 600 injured or missing, 298,050 displacedo (Buildings) 87,280 housing units, 2,690 production and public buildings, and 350 education and health care buildings flooded and destroyed o (Agricultural land) 123,000 acres flooded, buried, and lost o (Infrastructure) 17,000 square meters of railroad tracks lost, and over 300 landslides damaged |
| 2013 | 7.9.∼11. | Central North Korea | o (Life) 2 deaths, approximately 760 displaced persons o (Buildings) 120 houses (Gangwon), 19 houses (Hwangbuk), and 15 houses (Pyeongnam) flooded o (Farmland) 1,720 in South Hamgyong, North Hwangbuk, and Gangwon |
| 7.13.∼15. | All over North Korea | o (Life) 4 dead, 1 missing o (Building) 180 houses destroyed and flooded o (Farmland) 820 acres flooded in Hwangbuk o (Infrastructure) Roads and bridges in Seongcheon, Yangdeok, Bongsan, etc. | |
| 7.17.∼20. | All over North Korea | o (Life) 5 dead, 3 missing o (Buildings) 6,060 houses destroyed and flooded – 3,120 in North Pyongan Province, 2,800 in South Pyongan Province, etc., 23,770 displaced o (Farmland) Hundreds of acres flooded and buried o (Infrastructure) 6,330m road in Yangdok, South Pyongan Province | |
| 7.20.∼22. | All over North Korea | o (Life) 8 deaths o (Buildings) 4,500 houses, 30 educational facilities, 15 health facilities destroyed/flooded * 1,000 buildings destroyed in North Pyongan Province, 2,300 buildings flooded in Unsan County o (Farmland) 6,550 acres flooded in Pyongan | |
| 2015 | 8.4.∼5. | South Hwanghae Province | o (Life) About 10 casualtieso (Buildings) Damage to hundreds of households o (Agricultural land) Flooding and loss of over 1,000 pieces of information o (Infrastructure) Destroyed coastal seawalls, flooded roads, railways, and bridges |
| August 22-23 (Heavy rain, Typhoon Gona) | Spiral poem | o (Life) 40 deaths, 11,000 displaced persons o (Buildings) 1,070 houses, 5,240 households, 99 public buildings destroyed o (Farmland) 125 jeongbo completely flooded o (Infrastructure) 51 locations including railroad bridges destroyed | |
| 2016 | 7.22. ~24. (heavy rain, landslide) | Pyeongnam, Pyeongbuk (landslide in Deokryong area of Uiju) | o (Life) 10 dead, 4 missing, 55 injured o (Buildings) 246 households in 109 buildings destroyed and flooded o (Infrastructure) 8 railroads (760m), 10 roads, and 2 bridges completely or partially destroyed |
| 8.29. ~9.2.(Typhoon Lionrock, heavy rain) | North Hamgyong Province (Tumen River Basin) | o (Life) Hundreds of casualties, 68,900 displaced persons o (Buildings) 29,800 houses flooded (11,600 completely destroyed), 900 production and public buildings destroyed or damaged o (Farmland) 27,400 acres lost or buried o (Infrastructure) 180 roads, 60 bridges destroyed, 100 railways covered in mud and roadbed washed away | |
| 2019 | 9.2.~8. (Typhoon Lingling) | All over North Korea | o (Life) 5 dead, 3 injured o (Buildings) 460 households in 210 buildings, 15 public buildings flooded and destroyed o (Farmland) 46,200 pieces of land flooded and buried |
| 2020 | Late July to early August (heavy rain) | Eunpa County, Hwangbuk | o (Buildings) 730 houses flooded, 179 collapsed o (Farmland) 600 acres flooded |
| Late July to early August (heavy rain) | Gangwon-do, Hwanghae-do, All of North Korea, including Kaesong City | o (Buildings) 16,680 residential units, 630 public buildings destroyed or flooded o (Farmland) 39,296 information | |
| 9.2.~3. (Typhoon Maysak) | Gangwon-do, including Wonsan-si | o (Life) Dozens of casualties | |
| 9.2.~3. (Typhoon Maysak) | South Hamgyong Province, North Hamgyong Province | o (Building) About 1,000 houses each in South Hamgyong and North Hamgyong were destroyed. | |
| 9.2.~3. (Typhoon Maysak) | Geomdeok District, South Hamgyong Province | o (Building) 2,000 houses destroyed * Estimated to include 1,000 houses destroyed in South Hamgyong Province reported on 9.6 | |
| 2021 | 8.1.~3. | South Hamgyong Province(Sinheung County, Hamheung City, etc.) | o (Buildings) 1,170 houses destroyed and flooded o (Farmland) Hundreds of farmland buried, flooded, and washed away o (Infrastructure) 16,900m of roads and 8,100m of river and stream embankments destroyed |
| 2023 | August 10-11 (Typhoon Kanun) | Farms in the Ogye-ri area of Anbyeon-gun, Gangwon-do | o (Farmland) Flooding of approximately 200 sq. m o (Infrastructure) Collapse of river and stream embankments |
| Unknown | Anseok tidal flat near Oncheon-gun , Nampo-si | o (Agricultural land) 560 tidal flats flooded (including 270 agricultural lands) | |
| 2024 | 7.27 (heavy rain) | Sinuiju, Uiju, Chagang, Yanggang, etc. in North Pyongan Province | o (Buildings) 4,100 houses flooded o (Farmland) 3,000 houses flooded * Applies to Sinuiju and Uiju areas only |
* Source: North Korean media (Korean Central News Agency, Rodong Sinmun, Korean Central TV, etc.)