Pyongyang (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The worst floods in China for over a century have also destroyed the city of Sinuiju on the North Korean side of the Yalu River. Meanwhile the leader Kim Jong Il is visiting China with his son Kim Jong Un.
According to the Korean state Central News Agency, "the waters rose suddenly before anything could be done”. The overflowing Yalu River submerged entire neighbourhoods of Sinuiju such as Sangdan, Hadan, Daji, as well as the village Seoho in Uiju County and the islands of Ojok and Maks. There are no data on victims, but the water coming from China, an amount of more than 5,300 cubic meters per second, has flowed up the Yalu, paralyzing traffic and submerging entire buildings leaving only the roofs visible. At least 5 thousand people have been evacuated.
While Sinuiju is submerged, the Chinese Dandong, on the other side of the Yalu, was protected by dikes built during the Japanese occupation of 1932-45 and reinforced in subsequent decades. The same levees were built in Sinuiju, but were demolished over time, leaving it unprotected.
On August 23 in Dandong has taken over the movement of vehicles and pedestrians.
Sinuiju, about 3 hours drive from Shenyang, is one of the few access routes to China from North Korea through the “Bridge of Friendship "on the Yalu. 70% of North Korea's trade passes through this bridge, which is illuminated with neon lights on the Chinese side, by dark on the Korean.
Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is visiting Beijing, with his heir designate, his son Kim Jong Un. The news was given by the official North Korean media usually very reticent in broadcasting news about such visits to its greatest ally. This fuels speculation that the North Korean dictator is in bad health and is preparing his son to succeed.