KIM SPURNS HELP AS FLOODS NEAR NUCLEAR REACTOR

TOKYO Flooding caused by weeks of unusually heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 22 people in North Korea, with four others missing, and even approached the country’s main nuclear reactor, but leader Kim Jong Un says he is too worried about coronavirus to accept outside help.

The International Federation of the Red Cross said the floods had left 26 people dead or missing.

The disaster adds to an already troubling humanitarian situation in North Korea, whose weak economy has been further battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said at least 16,680 houses and 630 public buildings had been destroyed or flooded during the monsoon, with nearly 100,000 acres of crops damaged, and many roads, bridges, railway tracks broken. A dam at a power station also gave way, it said.

The floodwaters approached the Yongbyon nuclear complex, reaching the bases of two pump houses designed to cool the country’s main reactor last week, according to the 38 North website, citing satellite imagery.