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UN chief pledges North Korea aid N Korea floods 'displace 300,000'
(about 2 hours later)
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has ordered a full evaluation of the needs of North Koreans following severe flooding in the country. Officials in North Korea estimate that up to 300,000 people may have been left homeless by recent severe flooding, a UN aid agency spokesman has said.
Mr Ban said he had asked UN teams to assess the damage, and promised assistance to the communist nation. The officials told an aid team that people were in dire need of shelter and food, according to World Food Programme spokesman Paul Risley.
North Korea says hundreds of people have been killed in the floods, which were triggered by seasonal heavy rains. Large swathes of farmland have been destroyed, and North Korea has appealed to the UN food agency for help. The aid workers were visiting an area north of the capital, Pyongyang, to assess the situation.
Experts fear flood damage to crops could lead to further food shortages in the impoverished nation. They witnessed extensive flooding and a clear need for aid, Mr Risley said.
"There were indications of widespread damage and the dislocation of several communities, and clear evidence of the need for emergency food assistance," he said.
Food aid
Mr Risley said that the impact on food production was a major concern, especially as the floods hit during the pollination period for crops.
The flood has destroyed roads and bridges, KCNA said
"There is concern that this could indicate that these floods could significantly reduce the size of this year's harvest," he said.
North Korea already suffers from severe food shortages.
About two million people are thought to have died from famine in the mid-1990s in North Korea, and the country remains dependent on foreign food aid.About two million people are thought to have died from famine in the mid-1990s in North Korea, and the country remains dependent on foreign food aid.
'Very extensive' United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has ordered a full evaluation of the needs of North Koreans and has promised assistance to the communist nation.
Mr Ban held a meeting with North Korea's envoy to the UN, Pak Gil-yon. "I assured him that the United Nations will be prepared to render whatever possible humanitarian assistance and help to the DPRK (North Korean) government and people overcoming this difficulty," he said after a meeting with North Korea's UN envoy Pak Gil-yon.
"I assured him that the United Nations will be prepared to render whatever possible humanitarian assistance and help the DPRK (North Korean) government and people overcoming this difficulty," he said.
Rare plea for flood aid
The US and South Korea have both said that they would consider sending aid.The US and South Korea have both said that they would consider sending aid.
Teams from agencies including the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization are already assessing the damage inside North Korea. 'Huge damage'
"Our understanding is that the damage is very extensive," Paul Risley of the WFP told the BBC. North Korea made the rare plea for help after it announced late on Monday that storms since 7 August had led to "huge human and material damage".
He said the floods were affecting a greater area than ones that struck a year ago. Hundreds of people are thought to have died in floods in August 2006, although exact figures are not known. The flooding follows days of torrential rain in North Korea
Ewa Eriksson of the International Federation of the Red Cross said that the agency had begun distributing relief supplies. She described the situation as "very serious". State news agency KCNA said hundreds of people were dead or missing, while more than 30,000 houses had been destroyed. Roads, energy infrastructure and arable land had all been hard-hit, the agency said.
North Korea announced late on Monday that storms since 7 August had led to "huge human and material damage". Several areas were affected but worst hit were the three provinces of Kangwon, North Hwanghae and South Hamgyong, it said.
The flood has destroyed roads and bridges, KCNA said
State news agency KCNA said hundreds of people were dead or missing, while more than 30,000 houses had been destroyed.
Roads, energy infrastructure and arable land had been hard-hit, the agency said.
The three provinces of Kangwon, North Hwanghae and South Hamgyong provinces were the most affected, it said.
Television pictures from the capital Pyongyang showed people wading along streets through thigh-deep water after rivers burst their banks.Television pictures from the capital Pyongyang showed people wading along streets through thigh-deep water after rivers burst their banks.
These floods are thought to be worse than the ones that hit last year. Hundreds of people are thought to have died in August 2006, but exact figures are not known.