SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap) -- 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.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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