TOKYO, August 4. /TASS/. Pyongyang will seek help from its ‘most sincere friends’ in Moscow if it needs assistance in dealing with the aftermath of the floods that hit the country's northwest, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said, thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for his condolences a day earlier.
"Kim Jong Un, on behalf of the North Korean government, the Workers' Party of Korea, the Korean people and himself, expressed his sincere gratitude to President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government," the Korean Central News Agency said.
"With all his heart, he accepted the sincere condolences of his closest friends. At the current stage, government measures have been taken to urgently deal with the consequences of the flood, so the reconstruction will be carried out according to the plan drawn up. And if urgent assistance is needed during the further reconstruction, we will ask for help from our sincere friends in Moscow," Kim Jong Un added. According to him, after receiving Putin's condolences, the North Korean people "realized the fact" that the country "has a closest friend."
A heavy downpour on July 27 caused the water level in the Amnok River to rise above a dangerous level. The Korean Central News Agency reported earlier that more than 5,000 residents of Sinuiju City and Uiju County in North Pyongan Province were isolated. Helicopters were used to evacuate them, and the situation on the ground was personally controlled by Kim Jong Un. In his message to the North Korean leader, Putin noted that he could always count on Moscow's help and support.