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Hit by Historic Monsoon, N. Korea Warns of More Floods

William Gallo

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - North Korea continues to see historic levels of
   rainfall, further threatening an economy already battered by a
   coronavirus-related lockdown.

   Torrential rains have flooded hundreds of North Korean homes and wiped
   out vast swaths of rice fields in the country's agricultural
   heartland,according tostate media, intensifying worries about a poor
   harvest and food supply shortage.

   The Korean Peninsula has seen a much longer than usual
   monsoonseasonsthis year. The rains are expected to continue for much of
   the week.

   South Korea has seen 49 consecutive days of rain -- the longest streak
   on record. The downpours have caused landslides and floodsin the
   Souththat have killed at least 42 people.

   In the North, the extent of the damage is not precisely known.State
   media said Friday thatNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a
   flood-hit village in NorthHwanghaeprovince, where 600 hectares of rice
   fields andmore than900 homes were inundated or destroyed.

   Hwanghaeis the North's most important rice-producing province. North
   Korean officialsappearing on state TV have warned thatrivers in
   bothHwanghaeand the nearby province of Gangwon could overflow,
   according to South Korea'sYonhap news agency.

   The rains are already more intense than in 2007, when North Korea saw
   some of its worst floods, according to a briefing by South Korea's
   Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean relations.

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